Beanbean Kingdom
by Flight100
Summary: This is a Mario fanfic set in both the Beanbean and Mushroom kingdoms where Princess Peach is the heroine. Rated K plus because Cackletta isn't exactly a kids' character.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: HI EVERYONE! This is a Mario fic set in both the Mushroom Kingdom and the Beanbean Kingdom from Superstar Saga, with references to other Mario stuffs :P If there's any spelling/grammar errors it's because Google Docs doesn't catch anything, and neither do I :P If you bothered to read this, then enjoy :D Also, this is the updated version, because my formatting sucked and the only way to fix it was to completely delete everything and start over, so if you don't like this version, too bad. (I OWN NOTHING! Nintendo owns the rights to Mario and all the other wonderful characters in here)**

"_Ahh" I yawned as I sat up in bed and stretched. I looked to my left and saw the big red circle on my calendar that told me what today was: my wedding day! I got an excited buzz all over as I jumped to my feet and dressed, surprisingly fast. It seemed like I was at the chapel in only seconds! As I headed down the aisle, the first thing I noticed was how dreamlike and beautiful everything looked. _

_The sunlight leaked through the stained glass windows, and I finally reached the priest and my would-be husband. _

"_Do you, Mario Mario, take the fair Princess Toadstool to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Floyd asked him. _

_Mario said, "I do." and smiled at me. Floyd asked me the same question and I replied the exact way, so happy that this was _actually_happening. _

"_Whoever thinks that these two should not be wed speak now or forever hold your peace." Floyd looked around for anyone that might not want this to happen. _

"_I SPEAK!" I heard a deep voice growl from behind me. I turned around with a gasp and before I could blink Mario was in chains and Bowser was standing next to me. _

"_I do take you to be my wife, Peachy." Bowser said as he grinned devilishly. His face was inches from mine, and he was pulling me closer but I couldn't struggle…_

And then I woke I didn't realize it at first, and in my terror I bolted from my bed and shrieked, "NO!" I then realized that I wasn't in Bowser's grip, and I wasn't at the chapel. I looked at my calendar. No red circle. As horrible as that was, it would have been nice to have the wedding come true.

"PRINCESS! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" I heard Toadsworth yell, along with panicked banging at my chamber door. I went to open it, hoping that I didn't look too disheveled. He hated it when I didn't act "like a princess should", which apparently meant being well dressed at all times, not confronting him in a nightgown after a bad dream.

"It's alright Toadsworth, I just had a nightmare." I assured him. He looked skeptical, but then again, he always was.

"If you say so. But please, make haste princess, you're late for a meeting with the ambassador of Little Fungitown. There seems to be an emergency that he wishes to bring to your attention." He told me before turning to leave. I closed the door and gave a sigh, thinking about the good parts of my dream as I freshened up and got into a gown. _I wonder why Lady Lima hasn't showed up? If there's a problem in the Beanbean kingdom, the Little Fungitown residents shouldn't be sent here._

I stopped wasting time wondering about that and hurried to the meeting room. The situation had to be desperate!

"Thank goodness you're here, Princess Peach!" A little blue mushroom exclaimed when I entered the room, "I'm Toadiko, and I truly hate to be the bearer of troublesome news, but the Beanbean kingdom really needs help! Queen Bean has gone missing with no trace, and the prince refuses to send out a search party!" He had spoken so fast it took me a minute to process. When I finally understood, I wanted to ask him to repeat it. Maybe I'd heard him wrong? Queen Bean was very capable of taking care of herself and her kingdom, and almost always had the upper hand in a situation. How could that have happened?

I finally recovered enough to say, "I'll try to help in any way I can. Why don't we go to the courtyard and discuss the matter there?" I suggested.

"Of course, princess." Toadiko nodded before we started to leave the room.

"I can meet you out there in just a minute." I told him.

Toadsworth had wandered off somewhere, probably to gether some guards, and I went up to my room. I had to see this for myself. I grabbed a small bag and crammed some clothing and emergency items into it before leaving the room.

I almost ran right into Toad!

"Hey princess! Mario and Luigi wanna know if you're interested in having a picnic." He told me.

"Tell them that I appreciate the offer, but I'm meeting with a resident of the Beanbean kingdom." I replied.

"Alright, see you then!" He waved and ran off. Being my head guard, there was hardly a moment that he wasn't around. I made my way out to the courtyard, carefully making sure that Toadsworth wasn't around. Luckily, he wasn't. When I'd finally made it to where Toadiko was, I saw my helicopter not far away. _The captain must be around here somewhere!_

"What's with the bag, princess?" Toadiko asked. Then he looked at the helicopter too and connected the dots.

"Wait, are you coming to the Beanbean kingdom?!"

"Yes, but we have to be quick." I replied.

"That would be great! Thank you so much, Princess Peach!" He gave me a grateful smile. "Princess, are you going somewhere today?" I heard the captain say from behind me, making me jump a little.

"Yes, Toadiko here needs to get back to the Beanbean kingdom, and I must accompany him." I told him.

"Are you sure? Do Toad and Toadsworth know?" He asked skeptically.

"They'll know very soon, I assure you. Come on." I said, and without waiting for another word I climbed into the copter. Soon we lifted off the ground, and spent a few minutes in silence before I yelled, "How long has the queen been gone?"

"Over a week, princess! I don't even know who found out, but they had to be spying on the castle, the prince has been trying to keep it a secret!" Toadiko yelled back.

"How did you find out?" _I doubt news spreads _that _fast_.

"Some of the other villagers found out yesterday, and they told me.

I had to take immediate action!" I pondered this for most of the trip. The Little Fungitown residents hardly left Teehee Valley, it was just too dangerous. They often waited for news to travel to them.

"Should I land in Little Fungitown or keep going to the castle?" The captain asked me.

"We should get to the castle first, if this rumor is true then we need to speak with Prince Peasley." I told him, and he nodded.

I doubted the prince was home, he hardly was, but his guards were there, so I decided to talk to them.

"Hello, I'm looking for Prince Peasley, would you happen to know where he is?" I asked one when I had gotten to the gates.

"That depends on who you are, Miss." One of them replied. I was taken aback, considering that my last visit was rather recent and the damage that Cackletta had done seemed to not have been fully repaired yet.

"I am Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom, and I must speak with the prince." I informed him. The guards looked at each other, obviously guilty for not knowing me, and the one who had spoken with me said, "Of course! Princess Peach, right this way."

"Hold on." I said as I turned around. Toadiko wasn't too far away from me, and the helicopter was taking off again.

"Toadiko! Where is the captain going?" I asked him.

"He said he's going to get a few of your guards and the Mario Bros., because he doesn't think it's safe." He explained.

"Oh! Well, alright then." I sighed.

I turned back to the guards and told them that we were ready to go in. They lead us to the Great Hall and then left to return to their posts. Prince Peasley looked too engrossed in a huge map to notice us, so I spoke up, "Hello, Prince Peasley." He whirled around, looking slightly surprised and shocked.

"Oh, hello Princess Peach! It's good to see you!" He greeted.

"I've come because I received news that Queen Bean is missing. Is this true?" I asked. His expression dropped slightly, and he hesitated a moment before saying, "Yes. I just don't wish to worry the people. I thought I'd find her in no time, but I've been searching for over a week now, and I hardly have any clues. The few I do have could take months to trek."

"Then I'm glad I got here, you'll need help. Where do you suspect she could be?" I asked.

He gave a small sigh but smiled gratefully at me.

"Teehee Valley, around the Little Fungitown area, and near Stardust Fields, the last place we saw Cackletta. Really, anywhere except Joke's End and HooHoo Mountain. Those places are too obvious. But I have reason to believe that she's not just taking a secret vacation."

"What clues led you to believe that Little Fungitown has anything to do with this?" I asked. I was sure he had good reason, but I just couldn't imagine what could possibly be bad in that town! Well, besides the Invincishrooms.

"There have been… interesting things happening around here. I don't think that Cackletta is truly gone. While she hasn't shown her face here in quite some time, I must consider every possibility. Even if she is gone, before her death she could have planned something vile to spell the downfall of the kingdom. Maybe her companion Fawful has something to do with this, I don't know! But to truly know for sure if they have anything to do with the queen's sudden disappearance, I must ask this: who are you?" The prince asked Toadiko. He'd been so quiet, I almost forgot he was even here.

"I am the ambassador of Little Fungitown." He replied.

"Don't think you can fool me." Peasley told him with a small smile, "You were with the little troop of mushrooms who gave me the ransom note when I had found out that the queen was missing last week."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Princess, when they showed up I figured they were just some tourists. Then they told me that they knew the queen was missing. I started to ask questions, like how they found out, and if they knew where she might be, but they ran off. Some of my guards and I went after them, but we couldn't keep up. I ordered them to keep going while I went to warn Lady Lima, and not twenty minutes later my guards came back declaring that the mushrooms had turned into purple smoke at Chucklehuck Woods. Their hideout isn't there, and I never found anything worthy of another search. And now I've got you. So, I hope you don't mind showing us your little smoke trick after answering some questions." The mushroom was smirking. I was still trying to process what was going on.

"Not at all, but I don't think that your silly questions will be necessary." It grinned evilly and turned into a swirling purple whirlwind, which went through an open window.

"Quick, after it! Maybe we can find out where the queen is!" Prince Peasley exclaimed before he took off.

**All of the fights/gear in here will be from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. Hope you enjoyed!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: Hey again! Updated version, thanks for reading, if you have questions PM me, and I'd love a review every once and awhile! Thanks!**

Prince Peasley and I ran out of the castle and chased after the smoke.

"Hold your ground, don't leave your posts unless absolutely necessary!" The prince shouted to his confused guards as we passed the gates. We chased the thing all the way out of Castle Town and up the path that led to Teehee Valley. I really hoped that this thing was just trying to fool us, Little Fungitown had enough problems as it was. I glanced up at the sky when I saw the prince staring at something, and I saw my helicopter. Mario and Luigi were here!

"No time for greetings, your guards will point them to us. We've got to follow that thing!" I told him. He only nodded in agreement and picked up the pace (which, as I might add, made it difficult for me to follow. Heavy dresses aren't very good for running.)

The smoke got much farther ahead of us before it seemed to decide to give up the chase and transformed into a more solid creature. It looked almost like… no, that wasn't possible… or maybe it was. The prince and I were probably both thinking the same thing: Cackletta isn't defeated.

"Princess, get back!" Prince Peasley ordered me.

"Not a chance!" I refused stubbornly. So we stood side by side against the monster and used our weapons (mine being my parasol and his a lance.) In no time at all the monster was really beat down, but we weren't looking so good either.

"Do you have any specials?" The prince asked me.

"I don't fight often, so I only have healing spells." I replied, using Therapy on him.

"Thanks. I think I have a Star Egg somewhere…" He muttered, bringing it out. That finished off the monster.

"Well, we've lost our only lead…"

"Don't worry, I'm fully prepared to stay here until we find the queen. And it _was_ headed this way, we can question all the residents about the mushrooms you saw." I assured him. He smiled and then I looked behind us. The prince followed my gaze and our eyes landed on Mario, Luigi, Toadsworth and a few of my guards, one of them being Toad. With how frantic Toadsworth looked, I felt like I had to apologize when he ran up to me and started telling me about how unsafe this trip had been, and everything that could have gone wrong, and how he couldn't believe how irresponsible I was.

"Princess, I must insist that you return to the Mushroom Kingdom _immediately!_" Toadsworth finished with huff, finally too out of breath to do more scolding.

"Of course not! The queen is missing, and I have already offered my help. In fact, I just told Prince Peasley that I'm not leaving until we find her. But you may come with us, if you'd like." I said.

"Princess, Weegee and I will help." Mario told me.

Luigi nodded, and I smiled. _It's hard not to think about my dream when I look at him…_ I knew that my guards were going to stay no matter what. I was glad though, we'd have less trouble this way.

"What should we do, now that the creature is gone?" I asked the prince.

"Since we're already halfway to the desert, I suggest that we get to Little Fungitown to question the residents. Maybe word has gotten around about tourists who have showed up over the week that might have acted suspiciously." He replied.

Toadsworth was positively flabbergasted. So we headed northeast into Teehee Valley (with most of my guards and Toadsworth following rather reluctantly.) While we walked, I started wondering what Bowser might be plotting. I hadn't seen hide nor hair of him in weeks, that was a record. It was a little more than worrying to think that he was just sitting around in his castle planning something. I tried not to think any more about that as we finally reached the platform to Little Fungitown. Luckily, there weren't any monsters. We had enough to worry about without me losing my last nerve.

I could stand Goombas and Koopas, but the last time we were here I encountered a giant rock monster that scared the living daylights out of me!

"We should split up and look around." Prince Peasley suggested. The rest of us nodded in agreement. It wasn't safe to be alone, anyway, and my guards weren't very likely to leave my side during the rest of our stay, if they could help it. They worried too much. Honestly, I should be guarding them. I worry about them so much sometimes…

"Mario, Luigi, will you two explore the east side?" I asked.

"Sure, princess. Come on, Weegee!" Mario said, taking off towards the infirmary.

"I'll try to get to the ruins, maybe there's a hideout in one of the caves." Prince Peasley told me.

"You shouldn't go alone…" I said.

"It'll be fine. If I'm not back here in a half hour, you'll know where to look." He assured me before running off. I could hear various gasps as the residents started noticing us, and cries of "IT'S THE PRINCE!" and "EEEE!" when Prince Peasley ran by. Instead of running off, I chose to walk around the town to try and get information from the townsfolk.

"Excuse me, sir, but do you know anything about some tourists that might have showed up here a week ago?" I asked a man who was, for some reason, watering that mushroom garden outside of the hypnotist's house.

It seemed rather pointless, as the entire yard itself was a mushroom and the roots probably extended out towards the ocean it was so big. "Princess Peach! It's such an honor!" He replied immediately, bowing slightly. _I wish everyone would be less formal and just spit out the information!_ As annoyed as I was, I managed a smile.

"I saw a few tourists from the Mushroom Kingdom here about a week ago, yes." He said, and my face brightened. I hung on to the hope that he might have an answer to our problems.

"I thought it was a little strange, since when we get visitors, they're usually just from Castle Town-"

"Spit it out, man!" Toadsworth interrupted him. I was glad he beat me to it, and thanked him under my breath.

"Okay! They went in to the Warp Pipe next to the arcade." He said. I thanked him and we headed straight for the arcade to see if anyone else might have seen them, and I really hoped no one would get sick again. I remembered our last visit all too well, when Mario ate an invincishroom and nearly turned into a bean. We didn't get any more information, however, and instead went to stand in front on the Warp Pipe.

"They could be anywhere in the Beanbean kingdom now! Maybe… Find Mario and Luigi! Meet me back here!" I told everyone before I took off to find Prince Peasley. Toad came rushing after me, obviously worried (though probably not nearly as much as Toadsworth.)

"Princess...wait... up!" He puffed behind me. I slowed to a fast walk so I could explain.

"What's the rush…? What did you… think of?" Toad asked, still panting.

"Remember the last time we were here, and Cackletta took me to Joke's End? Maybe that's where the creature went! Maybe all the clues were false! It's so obvious it might actually be the place that we need to go!" I exclaimed triumphantly. I suppressed a giggle as the memory of Luigi dressing up as me came into my mind. We finally reached the ruins and headed into the nearest cave. It was extremely din, and I found myself wishing I'd packed a flashlight.

"Prince Peasley?" I called out through the thick darkness. No reply.

I could already think of three reasons why he hadn't answered: one, he didn't hear me, two, something might have happened to him, and three, he's not in this cave at all. I looked around and decided to try yelling before we searched another cave.

"PRINCE PEASLEY!" I yelled. I heard my voice echoing off the walls, and I still didn't hear anything. We searched three more entrances before I heard a faint, "Yes, Princess Peach?" _Thank goodness…_ Toad and I ran towards his voice, and then we finally reached him. We gasped simultaneously, because in the very dim light that came in, we could see that he was trapped in a giant web, but I'd never seen a spider big enough to spin this!

"Would you mind lending me a hand? I wouldn't fancy meeting the thing that made this." Peasley said with a nervous laugh.

We each grabbed one of his arms and pulled him free. He let out a relieved sigh, along with another noise. Something was coming towards us in the dark, and it really was a wonder we could see anything, what with being so deep in the cave.

"RUN!" Peasley ordered, and none of us hesitated before bolting out of the cave into the broad daylight. The creature came to the entrance of the cave and hissed before coming out. Being how horrifying it was, and given its home, I wasn't surprised that it didn't like the light. Just the sight of it made me and Toad scream, but the prince just seemed to be paralyzed with fear.

I wasn't going to ask and confirm my suspicions, but I supposed that he was afraid of spiders. "L-Let's take this thing down." Peasley stuttered as the spider jumped at us and started a battle. I almost snickered when I saw its name, which was Webster, but I was still a bit scared, and it opened up the battle with attacking all three of us with a web attack. Prince Peasley brought out his lance again, I healed us, and Toad used a magic attack to turn it into a mushroom for a few rounds. Since it couldn't hurt us after that, we just attacked it until it was a spider again, and after it got one hit on us Toad simply turned it into a mushroom again.

This continued for quite awhile until we finally beat it. We congratulated ourselves and started walking back to Little Fungitown.

"Oh! Prince Peasley, we found a mushroom who told us that the creatures went through a Warp Pipe." I told him. He grimaced, and I continued, "I know that sounds like their hideout, and possibly Queen Bean, could be anywhere in the Beanbean Kingdom, but I think that the clues you have found might just have been a hoax to lead you astray from the real hideout. Which might very possibly be Joke's End." I told him. The grimace left his face, replaced by a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"You may be right, princess! Then again, they could have taken her and fled the kingdom… We should look there first, though. I will thoroughly comb this land before assuming anything, but anything is a possibility." He sighed. We resumed heading back, and I really hoped that we could end this soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: Hey, guys! I don't think this chapter went through any updating, because it didn't need any, but I still hope you enjoy it :D I'll probably be finishing this story over winter break, so keep watch! This chapter also contains perspective changes! (oh, that disclaimer in the first chapter? That'll be the only disclaimer in here, because I don't need to keep writing it. Enjoy!)**

When we had finally reached Little Fungitown, I saw Mario, Luigi, Toadsworth, and the rest of my guards coming towards us. Apparently they'd finished searching the place.

"Mario! Luigi! We've decided that Joke's end would be an ideal place to check, are you coming?" I asked them when they were close enough.

"We're always ready to accompany you, princess!" Mario smiled.

"But… maybe we should get some gear before we leave. There might still be monsters there." Luigi suggested.

"Poppycock! Princess, you really shouldn't be going on a mission so dangerous!" Toadsworth objected.

"I really don't think you should be going either, princess. What if something happens to you?" Toad said. That surprised me, Toad was always willing to go on an adventure with me! I sighed, however, and consented to staying. Toadsworth looked so happy that I started to regret lying, but that guilt wasn't enough to make me stop helping Prince Peasley get the queen back.

Mario, Luigi, the prince and Toad got their gear and left, and I immediately started thinking of ways to ditch my guards for long enough to get away and get gear.

"What should we do until they get back?" I asked.

"How about we stop by the arcade? Just don't eat any mushrooms!" Toadsworth warned. Toadsworth might not look it, but he eyes like a hawk! _How am I supposed to get away in such a cramped space? _My answer came when I stepped into the arcade. That place was so stuffy I could hardly breathe, and almost all the machines were already occupied by some of the residents.

This would be too easy. Hopefully.

"Toadsworth, I think I'm going to step outside for a moment." I told him.

"Yes, yes, go right ahead. I might just join you in a little bit, it's quite stuffy in here." He replied. I smiled and left, then ran straight to the gear shop. I bought a Nautica Dress and a Frying Pan (just in case), then I snuck over to the Warp Pipe and chose the path to Joke's End before anyone could notice that I was gone. - - -

(**Underlined words in bold indicate a change in perspective**)

Meanwhile, Toadsworth had just stepped outside. He looked around and, upon not seeing Princess Peach anywhere, started to panic.

"Calm… down… old boy… she couldn't have gotten terribly far…" He thought aloud. He didn't have any reason to create a panic unless there was truly a need. Though somehow, he thought there might be. The princess could be so irresponsible! He went to the nearest villager, which happened to be a young mushroom girl.

"YES! I just saw the princess running that way! She's SO pretty!" The girl squealed, pointing to the Warp Pipe path.

"OH THE HORROR!" Toadsworth exclaimed, running back into the arcade to warn the guards, "The princess has pursued Masters Mario and Luigi!"

"Toadsworth, calm down! Toad's there with them, and the prince, she's more safe with them anyway. And you know they wouldn't refuse to protect her if there really _was_ any danger over there. Plus, the princess is pretty capable of protecting herself anyway. She's even escaped Bowser before!" Toadster told him. The others nodded in agreement.

"I don't know…" Toadsworth sighed, still worried. He supposed they'd just have to set out later, because he wouldn't just leave her out in the middle of _this _kingdom after the last trip. It was simply horrendous!

(**Fun perspective change!**)

I arrived at the entrance of Jokes' End, a grand palace, chilled to the bone already by the heavy frost that surrounded everything. The palace itself seemed to be made of ice! _Was it like that before?_ I couldn't recall. I climbed the stairs to the entrance and peeked inside. I didn't doubt that the others were already far ahead, so I decided it was best to hurry along. I kept going and I payed a lot of attention to the walls. It didn't melt at all, it seemed, even with the sun, and someone had taken the time to carve intricate drawings onto all the walls.

It was definitely someone with a lot of time on their hands! It must've taken years! _And if someone was here for years carving such beautiful drawings into ice, it couldn't be all that bad. Gosh, I bet nothing very bad ever happened here, aside from when Cackletta was trying to take over._ I was brought out of my thoughts when I heard music. It sounded a lot like battle music. _There are thoughts I should just stay away from!_ I ran towards a door that looked like it had once been covered with ice, but had been hammered away. That must be from that last time Mario and Luigi were here. _If someone took so much time to draw on the walls, why haven't they repaired this door?_

I shrugged off the thought before walking through. There were a lot of stairs, not surprisingly made of ice, and a Paratroopa flying around. I ducked behind a column before it saw me, and tried to decide what to do. I had to hurry! On one hand, I could just beat it, but there was almost always more than one enemy in a battle, what if I couldn't handle it? On the other hand, it would take too much time to avoid it, and its shell was red, which here meant that it was fast. Really fast. Maybe fast enough that I wouldn't be able to avoid it anyway. _Alright, if I'm getting anywhere I have to fight! _With the decision made, I raced out and got a first strike on it with my frying pan.

"OW! That hurt, lady! You asked for it!" The Paratroopa growled before it ducked into its shell and raced at me. I tried to defend, but it still did a bit of damage to me. This little pattern continued for another round before I defeated it.

"Huh, I guess it was weaker than I thought." I thought aloud, "MARIO? LUIGI?" I didn't get any response. I didn't think that it was very likely that a giant spider was here, but given what happened earlier I was getting worried.

I didn't know if they'd packed any 1-ups, but I hoped that they had. Just as I got up the stairs, the battle music stopped. I paused at the doorway in front of me and listened. There were a couple voices, which I gladly recognized as Mario and Luigi's. I cautiously peered in and made sure that everyone was okay, but that they couldn't see me so that they didn't freak out. They had a tendency to do that if they thought there was danger. Mario, Luigi, Toad and I had been on enough adventures for them to not worry _too_ much.

"I don't like the look of this next room, there shouldn't be anything else here after last time…" Mario mused.

"There are plenty of dangers that could've taken up residence here, I assure you." Prince Peasley told him.

"There's a save block, we should use that." Luigi suggested. They nodded and each hit it before entering the next room. I quickly followed suit and hit the block, and then edged my way over to the door to watch them. Music had started again, but this time it was boss battle music. I was curious what the boss was, because like Mario said, there shouldn't be much else in here except minor enemies. I looked into the room and held in a gasp. It looked like a giant ice monster! Like the palace itself came alive, because it was protruding from the ground.

Everyone, save for the boss, looked like they needed healing. I ran into the battle and, somehow being unnoticed, I waited until it was my turn and then healed everyone with a speciality power.

"Thanks- princess?!" Toad said when he finally looked at me.

"Focus on the boss, please!" I ordered, and he nodded. It was a bit hard to fight the boss, seeing as how every time we destroyed an icy limb it didn't take too long to regrow it and to the weak spot was very hard to find, but eventually, with the five of us, we beat it.

The second the battle was over, Toad turned to me.

"Princess, you should be back in Little Fungitown with Toadsworth and the other guards!" He scolded me.

"You should know me better than that, Toad." I rolled my eyes, "Plus, you're my head guard. If I'm not safe here, there's not many other precautions we can take." I silently congratulated myself for coming up with that excuse so quickly. It seemed to work, too, because they looked at one another for a split second before nodding in agreement, apparently to let me tag along.

"Well, there's too many of us now, it would be better to split up. Princess, you should stick with Toad and Mario. Luigi and I will check out the west end of the palace." The prince said. We agreed and went our separate ways.

"Where should we look, Mario?" I asked him.

"I think we should check the spot that Weegee and I rescued you last time. We didn't spend too much time up there, and who knows what's been going on here since then?" He replied.

We headed that way and, many battles and coin blocks later, we reached the spot. It was a place that still visits, not because of Bowletta (though THAT was terrifying), but because of the stillness, the horrible atmosphere, and the general scariness of it all.

If there was one thing I couldn't stand, it was silence. I was so glad that Mario and Toad were here. I could always count on them to be right beside me, no matter the situation. I smiled a bit. Another vision of my dream came into my mind, just before another thought at the back of my head struck me. I wasn't in the Mushroom Kingdom, so what if Bowser thought to look here? _No, he couldn't get that information. None of his followers have been anywhere near the castle in awhile, I guess he's just being lazy. I'm just glad that he's not here to ruin our search for Queen Bean!_

I was interrupted from thinking any more when I heard Toad exclaim, "Look over there!" Mario and I followed his gaze to a giant hole in the ground. How we hadn't noticed that right away, I don't know.

"Wouldn't someone have noticed this by now? Or if someone came here and somehow made it past that ice monster, wouldn't it be strange to see a giant hole in the ice and not report it to anyone? It kind of makes me wonder what's down there…" I trailed off as I slid a little closer to the edge of it. The ice had gotten particularly slippery up here, being so much closer to the sun.

"Princess, be careful!" Mario and Toad yelled simultaneously before I lost my balance and fell in.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: Hello again, just uploading this because this site won't let me EDIT! Does anyone else find that extremely annoying? Anyway, PM me if you have questions or tips, and enjoy this chapter, as always!**

_Of course I'd slip!_ It was so predictable!  
"DON'T WORRY, PRINCESS, WE'RE COMING!" I heard Toad shout.

"NO! GO TELL THE PRINCE AND LUIGI!" I yelled back, but there was no guarantee that they'd heard me at all, as I was rapidly going further underground. _How long is this tunnel go, anyway?_ I got my answer a few seconds later when I finally hit the bottom. Wherever I was, it was just as icy as the rest of the palace, only with a lot more snow. I stood up and started to dust myself off and Mario came sliding out of the chute.

"Please tell me that Toad went to warn the others." I pleaded.

"Yeah! We heard you just in time, he looked like he was ready to dive in headfirst." Mario chuckled.

I laughed a bit, too. I found it comforting that he was always ready to come with me into possibly dangerous situations, it made me feel safer. Then again, there was hardly a friend that didn't make me feel safe. That was just the feeling you got from them.

"Well, now that we're here, we should look around." I suggested.

"I don't know, I think we should wait for the others, it looks like the path splits up ahead." Mario replied.

"All the more reason to explore. I'm sure they'll catch up." I smiled. He smiled back, silently agreeing, and we walked further into the cavern. Despite there being no sun down here, even from reflections in the ice, the entire place was very brightly lit. It seemed that the walls held a light within! It looked so pretty! We took the left path, deciding that it might lead somewhere important, and kept walking.

(**Perspective change!**)

Toad had just caught up with Prince Peasley and Luigi.

"Luigi! Prince Peasley! We found a hole in the ice on the other side of the palace! The princess fell in and then Mario went after her right after she told us to get you guys!" Toad blurted out before stopping for breath.

"Then let's go! There's no telling what dangers await down there!" Prince Peasley commanded.

They took off with no intentions of stopping until their friends' were saved.

(**(Back to Peach!**)

Mario and I entered a rather large room, which was surprising, given that this whole place was still supposed to be connected to the Joke's End palace. _Or is it? I wonder how far this goes… and what's down here… and how far down it goes? I haven't noticed it going down any further, we must've fallen pretty far._ Those weren't very comforting thoughts, but at least I knew something about these strange surroundings.

"I wonder how long this goes on…?" Mario thought aloud.

"I don't know… Oh! Wait! This is a dead end. Well, that's all that was on this path. Maybe we should go back and wait until we explore the other path, there's no telling how long it could take. Or how long it'll take to get out…" I ended in a mutter. That thought certainly hadn't occurred to me. It was _freezing_ down here! What if we never got back out?!

The thought continued to invade my mind until we got back to the entrance and saw that everyone had arrived.

"You guys made it! Come on, I don't think we can go back up that way, we have to try the right tunnel." I told them quickly.

"Princess Peach! I'm glad you're well! Might I ask what you found in the first tunnel?" the prince asked. If I wasn't so accustomed to his royal speech, I'd think he was acting a bit strange. Well, even so I thought it was a bit strange, but I shook it off. There couldn't be anything wrong with him.

"Just a big empty room and a really long corridor. Probably just living space for those strange smoke creatures, if they're even here." I shrugged.

"Well, where else could they have hidden the queen?" He asked, obviously distraught. Yeah, nothing wrong at all. It was perfectly normal to feel so lost when a person close to you was lost, I knew the feeling. I was just the slightest bit surprised that he'd let his confidence waver, he was usually so good at being positive about things.

"Don't worry, we'll find her, no matter how long it takes!" I assured him.

"That's what worries me." He sighed. None of us had any more words of comfort, so we just kept walking in silence. I wanted to tell him that I knew how he felt, because of my father, but I really didn't want to start getting emotional.

"Did anyone else happen to notice how bright it is in here for being a giant cavern deep underground?" Toad asked after a while.

"Yes, I thought that was strange." I replied.

"Maybe there's a hidden light source somewhere in the walls?" The prince suggested, brushing his hand against the wall, "There isn't any heat though." This seemed to get his mind off the queen for just a moment, so we continued the subject.

"Maybe if we keep going, we'll find out what's making everything glow!" Luigi said, so we did that, and continued walking for about twenty more minutes.

"This tunnel seems to go on forever!" I thought aloud, and everyone agreed. Two minutes after I'd said that, we reached a bend that came to another enormous room with another tunnel entrance at the very end of it.

"Shh! Up against the wall." I whispered. I was in the front of the group, so I could see better. "There's a few Monty Moles in there, what should we do?"

The others looked at each other for a moment, then simultaneously said, "Fight!" _That's what I thought._ I giggled inwardly and then looked back to see if the enemies had heard us. Apparently they had, because they were looking our way. We lept out from our hiding place and, while we didn't take them by surprise, we did win the battle. They looked a bit confused when they saw the prince.

"We should check out that tunnel now, there could be something important in there. Why else would it be guarded?" I suggested.

The floor sloped noticeably when we walked across the room, so I was sure that we'd be going downward a little further.

You know, maybe we should turn around after all, I don't think the queen could be here, princess." Prince Peasley said.

"Don't give up hope yet! If there's nothing here we can look elsewhere, but it's definitely worth trying." I gave him a reassuring smile. After we walked a bit, the tunnel ended.

"Maybe we should head back now." Mario suggested.  
"Wait, look! There's something carved into the ice." Toad said. I looked at the ice a bit closer and saw what he was talking about. It was a little hard to make out, though. "I think it says… um… hahaha?" I told them. Then something hit me from behind.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: HIYA! I'm getting a bit annoyed with uploading SO MANY CHAPTERS! I can't even remember what the story's at right now, so hopefully you can figure it out. Have fun reading! **

"What in the world?!" I exclaimed when I turned around in the fight that had been started. It was a smoke creature! The official name was 'Shapeshifter.' Mario, Luigi and Toad jumped into the fight and I realized who was missing with panic.

"Where's the prince?!" I asked.

"Haven't you figured it out yet? You're a hopeless, incompetent fool! I was simply ordered by my mistress to stop you from getting to him, so I followed you here, and here you will stay." The smoke creature told us. Suddenly, things made the slightest bit more sense. I couldn't believe we were fooled for so long, but I still didn't really know the prince all that well, so that might have been the reason.

We were all fighting hard, and you'd think with Mario and Luigi that we would be enough to beat it quickly, but this creature was strong! It certainly wasn't going down easily, and to make it worse it was slowly chipping away at us with powerful attacks.

"I'll keep healing, just focus on fighting for now!" I told everyone. They nodded and we kept fighting with all our might. It was a very close battle, even with my healing, and I was nearly KO'd at the end, but we won!

"You know… you'll never… find your prince! Or the queen! Have fun crying, losers." The smoke taunted before it disappeared. I had the feeling it wasn't completely gone, however.

"I can't believe this happened! Come on, we can't waste another second down here!" I said, turning to run out of the room. I only get to the entrance before I had to stop. I hadn't realized I only had five health.

"Princess, you need to heal up first, and then we should plan what to do." Mario told me, handing me a mushroom. I took it, but proceeded to head back to the entrance of the caves, telling them to follow.

Who knows what those things have done to the prince and the queen? Will we ever find them? What if we fail to find them?! Theses thoughts and more raced through my mind as I continued to worry, and then we got back to the entrance and I realized what the biggest problem at hand was a split second after Toad did.

"Uh, princess? We can't climb up all of this ice, how're we gonna get out?" Toad asked.

"I just realized that… but as for what to do, I can't think of anything. Not unless those Monty Moles left any equipment around, but I didn't see any, and I don't believe anyone knows how to find us, or would try, what with all the monsters…" I mused. We stood there for a few minutes, trying to think of ways to get us out of this predicament, but none came to us. Then a ball of flame shot out of the hole.

Toad and I screamed, while Mario and Luigi yelled, "MAMMA MIA!"

"Wait, wait… be quiet and run!" I whispered to everyone. L_ike that's gonna do any good, whatever's up there must have already heard us!_ Nevertheless, we did turn and run. At least no one was hurt from the unexpected attack. Who knows where that came from?! I shuddered to think what else might be after us. This kingdom was too dangerous, I decided to work on sending extra help when I returned home. If I happened to return home. After a little while of running, and taking separate paths from before, we came upon another large room with even more columns and pillars, perfect for hiding behind. Just as we'd hidden, the thing that had shot the fire came bursting into the room. I hadn't realized that it got down the hole, or that it was chasing us.

"Playing hide-and-seek, are you? Well, come out and I promise I won't bite. You can't stay away forever, you know." A familiar voice said. _No. How could he have found us? How could he even know we were here? Did he have spies?_ I almost slapped myself. The Koopas in the stairwells… who knew he actually bothered to keep an eye here? None of us stirred from our spots, though. I guess the others knew too.

"I SAID COME OUT! I KNOW YOU'RE HERE!" Bowser roared. Another voice popped up.

"Your Grouchiness, maybe they continued through that tunnel? We'd be wasting time here if they had…" It said.

"Maybe you're right, Kamek." Bowser agreed with a growl. I could tell he wasn't happy about that.

Nothing more was said, and Bowser's footsteps were fading away. I guess that meant Kamek was flying. Or waiting for us, and this was a trick. Either way, we couldn't stay here, we could make a run for it. We did wait for a few more minutes, then I gestured to the others and we all stepped out. Sure enough, there was Kamek! I would have run, except that I had suddenly frozen on the spot.

"Kehehehe! So, princess, you thought you could hide from King Bowser? Not on my watch!" He cackled. My limbs were still unwilling to move, and it seemed to spread to everyone else as Kamek put magic bubbles around Mario, Luigi and Toad. Finally Bowser came back into the room.

"GWAHAHA! I knew you were in here! Come on, Peachykins, we're getting out of here!" Bowser ordered. I looked at my friends in dismay. It wouldn't be easy getting out of this one. And to make matters worse, unless he'd built another castle here, he was taking me back to the Mushroom Kingdom!

"No thanks, I'm kind of busy at the moment." I replied.

"Oh, you know it's not a choice. Let's go." Bowser grinned and started towards me.

"Let my friends go and I'll come willingly." I said just before he grabbed me. He seemed to pause and consider the offer.

"Princess, no!" Toad exclaimed with a look of panic that reflected on Mario and Luigi's faces as well.

"Let her go, Bowser!" Mario demanded. Of course, Bowser ignored them.

"You'll really come willingly if I let them go?" Bowser asked.

"You have to bring them up, too. But yes." I said after I stole one more glance at my friends.

"ALRIGHT! Kamek, bring 'em up!" Bowser ordered happily. Kamek, though scowling, wasn't one to ever defy Bowser, so he followed the command. Bowser continued to carry me to the top and then shoved me into the Clown Car before we started to fly away.

"Let them go now, Kamek!" Bowser said, and the bubbles popped as Kamek waved his wand. "Do you have a hideout here, or something? I don't want Toadsworth to go crazy with worry." I said. He looked a bit surprised, like he actually expected me to betray him. I just waited for an answer. _I can't wait around for Mario this time, they have to find Prince Peasley and Queen Bean! I've gotta find a way out myself! _

He pulled me close to him, which was rather uncomfortable, given the already-close quarters, and said, "Yes. Now, be honest, princess, you came because you love me."

"No, I came so you would let my friends go. Now, can we stop by Little Fungitown? My guards must still be there, they should know that I'm alright." I requested.

"Of course not! we have to get back to my new castle. Lucky for you, it's right here in the Beanbean Kingdom." He replied.

"Oh, please! They really should know." I pleaded. I hung on to the hope that if Toadsworth and the other guards knew, they might be able to help me escape. Whatever resolve Bowser had seemed to melt when I pretended to beg. I'd be able to use that sometime.

"Alright, but no funny business, and you get five minutes." He agreed. I gave him a small smile, just enough to tell him that I was grateful without any words being exchanged. When we finally did arrive at Little Fungitown, panicked screams could be heard very clearly.

"BOWLETTA IS BACK! NOOO!"

"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

"WHY ARE WE SCREAMING IN FEAR OF A CLOWN FACE PAINTED ON A FLYING CAR?!"

"It's okay, everyone! Calm down!" I shouted over the noise. Some kept screaming, a few stared up in wonder, and some were so hysterical I don't think they even heard me. Bowser looked a bit confused, I wasn't sure he even remembered being Bowletta.

"OH, PRINCESS! THE HORROR!" Yelled a very panicked Toadsworth. We touched down to the ground and I felt a wave of relief at seeing him.

"Toadsworth! Can you come here for a minute?" I asked. I knew time was running short. He stood a few feet away from the Clown Car, though he looked eager to have me get out of it. I wasn't sure Bowser would allow that, and there was no point in running, so I stayed put.

"If Mario, Luigi and Toad come back, make sure they continue the search for the queen and the prince. I'll be okay." I told him.

"We can't leave you, princess! I won't allow it!" He exclaimed.

"Time's up, Peachy!" Bowser said, maneuvering the car to start flying again.

When we were far enough up, I finally turned to Bowser.

"What did you call me?" I hissed. He looked unsure of whether it was a good idea to tell me or not, then remembered that I was his prisoner.

"I called you Peachy."

I rolled my eyes. I hoped that I could get away from him soon, of all the things I hated about Bowser, that nickname was in the top five.

"Well, I don't like it. I would much prefer you just call me Peach." I said.

"Alright then, Peachy." He grinned. I looked angrily at him, but it only seemed to be motivation, so I finally ignored him as best as I could and looked out at the scenery. _At least it's pretty up here. It's so fun to see everything from so high up._ I smiled a bit to myself and amused myself with naming all the different areas. We were between Hoohoo Mountain and Chucklehuck Woods before we touched down at Bowser's new castle.

I got out of the car before he could grab me again. That really wasn't my preferred way of traveling. I looked up and couldn't help but think that he'd really outdone himself this time. The castle was impressive, though I'd never tell him. There were plenty of spiral towers, which I thought he'd made specifically for me, since they were my favorite part of a castle, and ivy grew on the walls. On closer inspection, it looked like every brick that made up the exterior was engraved by hand to have a different pattern. There were multiple different pictures I saw before Bowser guided me inside.

Kamek left, probably to yell at Goombas or something.

"Wait till you see the room I made for you, Peachykins!" Bowser said. I chose to ignore that, but followed him. Maybe if I didn't talk he'd get the hint. Or maybe he'd be as thick-skulled as ever. He led me up five flights of stairs to the biggest spiral tower and opened the door. It was the usual: a pretty pink room, most of the furniture and decor pink, with a closet and a bathroom. Maybe he thought giving me a nice room would make me like him. He was strange that way. I entered, a bit suspicious that he hadn't threatened me with anything yet.

Perhaps it was because I'd come "willingly."  
"I hope you like it, because you won't be leaving it for a while." Bowser told me before he left, locking the door behind him. He'd most likely send up guards soon, as I always tried to escape. With a start, I looked around the room one more time and realized that it looked a lot like my room. Too much like my room. Even the balcony! I'd have to keep a closer eye on things back at the Mushroom Castle. At least he'd been sweet enough to remember how much I loved my balcony. Now escaping would be a cinch. I opened the large glass doors and stepped out. I peered over the edge to see if there were any guards lurking around. None! This was almost too easy, I'd have to be cautious. I went to the closet to find some spare blankets to tie into a makeshift rope. I'd be back to help with the search in no time!

**As always, I enjoy your support! Thanks :D **


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note: Ummm... what to write... Hi? Hello? Something like that. I'm tired, the rest of these messages might not be so full of energy. On the bright side, GUESS WHAT?! I'm working on another chapter of LoZ :D Hope you're looking forward to it! Hope you like this chapter! **

"I wonder if this will even be long enough?" I thought aloud as I tied blankets together. There were only a few, and I was up really high. Maybe my parasol would work. I was about to tear the sheets off the bed when I heard a knock at the door. I had a few seconds of complete panic where I hid the blankets under the bed and then sat down. After a minute of me not saying anything, whoever it was took that as an invitation to barge in. It was Kamek!

"I've been assigned to guard you, just so you know, so don't try any funny stuff!" He warned.

"Oh, don't worry, I won't try anything. I'm just waiting until Bowser gets back." I told him with a false smile.

"Really? ...Don't think I'm not going to be keeping a very close eye on you, princess." He sneered before he left. That was strange. He didn't even really need to announce himself. I guess he thought he was too important to ignore.

I continued to tie blankets together for a few minutes, every so often glancing at the door. There was no way Kamek was messing this up for me. The second I was done I ran out to the balcony, checked for guards, and then threw my contraption out the window after I tied one end to part of the railing. I looked down again. I couldn't see any guards, but I could see that it was very high. I hoped that the rope held. If it didn't, at least I could use it as a cushion. I took a deep breath and climbed down, and when I was finally on the ground, I started to run towards the gate. Then I stopped. There weren't any guards at the gate! Either this was a trick, or Bowser really thought he could trust me. I wasn't quite sure.

"GET HER!" I heard someone shout, and I had just enough time to turn and try to block a couple of Koopas who had been hiding in the very well-trimmed bushes. Perfect for hiding. They grabbed me and, after a few minutes of struggling, I still couldn't get out!

"LET GO OF ME!" I yelled at them.

"No can do, princess, you know the rules!" One of them replied. Well, whatever rules they had here, I wasn't going down without a fight! I kept struggling until we got back to my room. When Kamek saw me, he flashed a grin of triumph.

"I'll take her from here." He said. The guards nodded and _finally_ let me go, then they left. Kamek opened the door and then gestured in.

"I told you not to pull any tricks, princess. Now I'll have to take extra safety measures." He said.

I figured it wasn't worth it to try and run, so I just went into the room. Once again, the door locked behind me, and I sighed before I went to sit on the bed. I looked at the balcony and realized that the bedsheet rope was gone. That was weird. Maybe one of the guards was hiding in my room… That was a creepy thought!

"Hello? Is anyone there?" I asked nervously.

"PRINCESS!" A muffled voice said from the closet. A few seconds later, Toad and Toadsworth burst out.

"How are we supposed to get out now? The door is locked, the windows are guarded, and you two are locked in with me!" I said.

"Gee, what a nice greet. But I guess we didn't plan that far ahead… we just came in here and saw the rope and assumed you'd made it out safely. We were about to follow, then we heard voices, so we hid." Toad shrugged.

"No matter, at least you're safe, princess!" Toadsworth beamed. Yeah, safe.

"We're locked in Bowser's castle with Kamek right outside the door. We can't celebrate yet! How did you even get in here, anyway?" I asked.

"We walked in. The entire place seemed deserted when we got here… Kamek wasn't even at the door." Toad said. I was about to ask why they were even here and not searching for the prince when the door opened.

"Princess, Lord Bowser wishes to see you- what in the world are they doing here?!" Kamek shrieked.

"Just visiting. Where's Bowser? I've got some things I'd like to tell him anyway." I said cheerfully.

"Well, visiting hours are over. To the dungeon with you!" He put magic bubbles around them just like he did at Joke's End. There was nothing I could do at the moment, but maybe I could convince Bowser to let them out. So I shot them both a small smile before Kamek teleported them to the dungeon.

A minute later a couple Koopa guards, not the same ones from earlier, came in and escorted me to Bowser.

"Leave, minions." Bowser ordered when I was in the room. I wonder if I'd have to pretend to be nice to him to get him to let Toad and Toadsworth out.

"I heard about your attempt to escape, and your little friends, Peachy. Are you feeling okay? You said you'd stay willingly."

"First of all, I have told you _many_ times not to call me Peachy. Second, if you really must know how I'm feeling, I'll tell you. Not very well. I can't be expected to cooperate if you keep my "little friends" locked up. And you always keep me locked up in one room! If I'm going to stay here, can't I at least tour the castle?" I blurted out.

If I was able to explore, at least I could find a way to escape.

"If it really makes you more comfortable, I guess the loudmouth mushroom and the old man can go. And I suppose you can explore the castle… yes, I can even give you a tour myself!" Bowser grinned. He soon called for his guards to go get them, and I started brainstorming ways I could get out. _What's the one thing that can tempt Bowser the most? ...Cake! I'll ask to go to the kitchen!_ After a few minutes, Toad and Toadsworth entered the room. Before I could greet them, Bowser spoke up.

"Now, we should start the tour. Come on!"

"Of course, Bowser. I was wondering, though, could you show us the kitchen last?" I asked. Toad seemed to get the unspoken plan right away, because he grinned.

"That's fine. Follow me." Bowser said, grabbing my hand. It was a slightly different layout than his last castle, but it's like he didn't expect Mario to come. There weren't any pits of lava, no battlefield-looking rooms, no Boos lurking in the corners. It was better this way. When we finally reached the end of the tour, I decided to put my plan into action.

"Bowser, may I speak to you in private for a moment?" I asked. He nodded and opened the door to the kitchen, gesturing me in. I gave the place a quick scan and saw a huge window that we could escape from.

"I was wondering if it would be alright for Toadsworth, Toad and I to stay in here awhile to bake you a cake. I just recently learned a new recipe I'd like to try." I told him. He looked at me with a completely stunned expression and said, "O-of course you can! I'll be back in an hour to check on you." then he left the room, and the others came in.

"Alright, here's the plan. We bake a cake, then leave." I whispered to them.

"The leaving part sounds great but… why are we baking a cake?" Toad asked.

"Because if the guards come in here and find us baking, they'll assume we won't escape. Plus, if we leave now, we won't get a head start." I explained.

"That is an excellent idea, princess!" Toadsworth beamed.

"Yes, why don't you watch the window and make sure that when we're ready, there's no guards?" I suggested. He nodded, and Toad and I set to baking the cake.

"So, what flavor should it be? Something Bowser really deserves. Hmm…" I looked around and almost immediately saw a Poison Shroom. _Actually, that might work. It would only make him sick if I used half of it…_

"I've got an idea! Let's just put icing on that cardboard!" Toad said, pointing to a small supply of cardboard boxes in the corner.

"Perfect! But like I said, we should probably fix some real cake batter, just so no one who comes in here gets suspicious I'll put half of this in the icing, though." I told him, holding up the Poison Shroom.

"That's even better! Come on, let's get to work!" He said. So, for fifteen minutes I worked on cake batter and icing and Toad built the cardboard cake. Once the icing was done, we iced it quickly, and I put "For you, Bowser!" on the top. Hopefully he'd eat some of it.

"Toadsworth, is the coast clear?" I asked him.

"Yes, princess, but we have to be careful. They come by quite frequently!" He replied.

We jumped out the window one at a time and then hid in the bushes, making our way through the grounds until the gates were in view. It looked like the guards were changing positions, because the pair that was there was leaving. There was only a tiny window of opportunity now!

"Run!" I whispered to Toad and Toadsworth, and we ran until we were just outside the gates, then turned east to head back to Castle Town. Luckily there were a lot of bushes and trees to hide behind, because I knew it wouldn't be long before Bowser was after us again.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note: Okay, by the way, MERRY EARLY CHRISTMAS! Only nine days :D Or something like that, my family is obsessed with counting down days 'til Christmas XD Are any of you doing anything special? What's that? SPEAK UP! I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER MY COMPUTER! ...Anyway, enjoy :D **

When we finally got back to Little Fungitown, we nearly collapsed from exhaustion. We hadn't gotten any sleep, we'd only run here through the night! I figured we were safe, for now, anyway. I spotted my guards and walked up to them.

"Have Mario and Luigi come back yet?!" I asked, so much panic in my voice for being so tired. They all looked overjoyed, though.

"Princess, are you okay?!"

"We have to get you somewhere safe! Bowser could be back any minute!"

"We're not leaving your side this time!"

After a few minutes of worried pleas for me to stay put, Toadbert finally answered my question.

"No, they haven't come back yet. We don't even know if they're still at Joke's End or if they went to search somewhere else!" He told me. I was torn between staying here to wait for them and satisfy the worries of my guards or go to search for the prince and the queen.

I must have had a familiar "I might run off again" look on my face, because Toadsworth said, "Princess, we're going back to the Mushroom Kingdom! It's not safe here!"

"Bowser would be expecting us to flee back to the kingdom so that he could have the upper hand. Besides, if you all went with me to search, it wouldn't be all that dangerous, right?" I asked hopefully.

"It would be so predictable, Bowser wouldn't think to look there, and you've already been here too long. Mario and Luigi can handle this." Toadsworth told me.

"Alright, but first-" I gave a quick look to the path that led to the Warp Pipe to make sure it was clear, "you'll have to catch me!" I took off and left everyone in a stunned silence.

I headed straight for the warp pipe and kept running and taking turns until I burst out at Chucklehuck Woods, panting and heaving for breath. I knew my guards would drag me back to the Mushroom Kingdom if they had to once they found me, but at least I could continue looking. They probably wouldn't think to look here, at least not for a while. The prince mentioned looking here once or twice, but thought it was a dead end. Maybe there's really something here? Maybe he's here! With that thought in mind, I took a deep breath and started running again, trying to avoid as many enemies as possible. I wasn't very well equip, and if I ran into something stronger I needed every mushroom I had. I got a mile west before I came to a huge hole in the ground.

It looked bit like the one at Joke's End, except that it had stairs. _That's a bit too convenient. Mario and Luigi are still searching, I wonder if they came to look here? Well, I can't stand around waiting for someone_. I started to walk down the stairs and kept a careful watch on my surroundings. After what happened at Joke's End, I wasn't going to be so careless anymore.

When I reached the bottom, I was greeted by the same mysterious light that had been in the other cave, only instead of being an icy white it was a light pink hue. _Perfect! I mysterious cavern with my favorite color._

I walked for about five minutes before I stopped. There weren't any other tunnels so far, just this one, what happened if I needed to hide? There weren't even as many columns here! Though, strangely enough, there weren't any enemies. After a few more minutes, though, I came to a fork in the tunnel and let out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding. I pondered what side to take until I heard voices behind be. _Oh no! What if it's some of my guards? How could they possibly have found me so fast?! I thought I had a great head start! _I quickly picked the right tunnel and ran for it, until I came to a large room much like the numerous ones in the cavern at Joke's End.

I was surprised to see Mario and Luigi fighting some sort of giant snail. I wasted no time jumping into the battle.

"Mario! Luigi! Are you okay? Have you found anything yet?" I asked them.

"Princess! You're safe! How did you get here?!" They replied simultaneously.

"I'll tell you after the battle. Have you found anything yet?" I repeated.

"Well, we haven't made much progress, it's just been one battle after another down here. We only came because it seemed so inconvenient for a villain that it'd be perfect." Luigi explained. _Well, that would explain why I didn't have any trouble with enemies on the way here._

"Where's Toad?" Mario asked.

"I left him with Toadsworth and the other guards back at Little Fungitown after I'd run into a Warp Pipe. I'm glad you're here, I wasn't sure how I'd be able to look for the prince or the queen on my own." I admitted.

"Princess, since Bowser is after you again-" Mario began, but I cut him off.

"Yes, he is, so the safest place for me to be right now is with you and not out in the open." I huffed. He let the subject drop and we continued the battle, finishing quickly.

"We should keep moving, if my guards find me they won't let me stay another minute." I said anxiously, glancing at the open tunnel. They nodded and we kept going forward for a little while. I tried not to think about them finding me, after all, what were the odds, right? Instead I focused on the warm glow of light on the walls, which was slowly deepening from a pink to a crimson red, making everything look slightly ominous.

Within another couple minutes we came to another fork in the path.

"Which way should we go?" I asked them.

"Well, we all went right first. Maybe we should check out the left path?" Luigi suggested.

"Or maybe it's a maze of tunnels, and right is the way we should go. We can't split up, so it's your call, princess." Mario said. I hadn't really dealt with tunnel mazes that much, except on the video games I'd played a few years ago, so I wasn't really sure. _There's nothing that stands out here, nothing that's missing from the first fork, I don't think…_

"Let's go left, and if that path leads to a dead end we'll just come back." I decided. We only walked for about ten minutes before we came to a dead end, so we started to turn around when I thought I heard a little voice and I froze in my tracks.

"Which way should we go, guys?" I heard Toad ask. Apparently, of all the places my guards could have checked, they guessed the one place I was! I listened closer, and heard that they decided on the right path. I breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Okay, new plan. Let's go back to the first two paths and go left! There's bound to be something there." I said.

"Princess, you can't avoid them forever." Mario told me.

"I know, but I can avoid them for a little longer. You know they exaggerate danger. If you want to go tell them where I am, be my guest, but I told the prince I'd help, and I'll keep my word as long as I can." I started to walk off, then I heard Mario mumble something to Luigi before coming with me.

"Luigi is going to get them once we're out of sight. You really shouldn't stay here, it's just too dangerous, but at least you'll get to see what's on that other path." Mario told me with a smile. I smiled back.

"Yeah." When we finally got back to the first two paths and went in the left tunnel, I knew it wouldn't be too much longer before my guards came running. Really, they could be so dramatic! The end of the path was - you guessed it - a dead end.

"Oh well, thanks for helping me, Mario." I sighed. I wasn't sure he'd heard me, though. He was looking at the wall, which had gone back to a light pink. In fact, right here, it was so light it was almost white. Strange.

"What do you see?" I asked. Maybe there were more letters!

"Well, maybe it's just me, but do you see anything in this wall? Like it's glass, but not completely see-through. It's not dirt like the other walls." He replied. I stepped closer to get a better look, and touched it.

"You're right! Do you think we could break it down?"

"Maybe, there might be something lying around that might come in handy. I don't think one hit from a Koopa Shell would break it, so it's better not to waste our items… If we can't find anything, it might be worth trying, though."

So we looked around, but didn't see anything. Of course. Then I heard my guards' voices again. _Great! We just stumbled onto something that could be extremely important, and I'm about to go back to the Mushroom Kingdom!_ When they finally reached us, I could tell Toad was worried, but I wasn't just going to abandon this!

"Hello again, I'm glad you got here. Do you have anything to break down this wall?" I asked them, gesturing to it.

"No, but why would you need to break down that wall?" Toad questioned.

"Look closer, it looks like something's inside." Mario told him. Toad gave it a closer once-over and nodded.

"I think you're right, there's definitely something there! But you really need to come with us, princess. You know there's only so much Toadsworth can take." He said. He was right, but that still wasn't going to stop me.

"Let's just find out what's behind it. It might be extremely important to finding the prince and the queen!" I told them. Toad sighed, but looked at the others.

"What do you guys think? Toadsworth won't know unless we tell him." He said.

"Fine, but if that wall isn't down within the next ten minutes we're leaving." Toadster grumbled. Everyone agreed, even I did.

I looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

"Do you think those roots are strong enough?" I asked.

"I think they should work." Luigi grinned, and we all tried to pull down a root. This had to be a really strong tree, because it looked like we weren't going succeed for a few minutes until it finally crashed down on us, flinging dirt everywhere.

"Okay, let's try this out! We can use it like a battering ram!" Mario said. So we picked it up and rammed into the wall a couple times. Each time it cracked more, until it finally came tumbling down. In the narrow tunnel that was revealed, we saw Prince Peasley!

**HAPPY HOLIDAYS! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: HEY AGAIN! Alright, has anyone ever realized that Peach is so much better in fanfictions than she is in the games? Really, even the cartoons did a better job of conveying her character! And I can't tell you how horrible those cartoons were! (Even though I might have enjoyed them... a lot... especially Toad!) Anyway, R&amp;R if you want, have a fantastic day or night, and enjoy :D I guess that's my catchphrase... "enjoy!" That's SUCH a weird catchphrase. I like "Allons-y!" better. Any of you like Doctor Who?**

The prince was tied up and gagged, but we quickly undid his bonds.

"Thank you so much! What happened?" He asked. He didn't remember? Well, this might be a problem.

"Do you remember anything? Where you were last?" I questioned.

"We were in the cavern of Jokes End, going down one of the longer tunnels. I think I passed out." He shrugged. _He must have gotten captured while he was behind us, otherwise we would have noticed. We should have checked back!_ Mario and I took turns filling him in on everything that's happened since then.

"Bowser's here?! ...I wish you a safe journey home, princess. In the meantime, we've got to get him out of here. There will be chaos if Castle Town sees him." The prince sighed.

"Thank you, Prince Peasley." I said. We started to walk out of the tunnels. My guards were behind us, and the prince and Luigi were in front of us.

"Keep an eye on him, Mario. We don't know for sure if he's real. Those creatures may be trying to fool us again." I whispered to him. We went all the way back to Little Fungitown to meet with Toadsworth, and then headed straight to the Beanbean airport. We left immediately, and I kind of felt like I was breaking my promise to the prince to help him find the queen, but I was sure he, Mario and Luigi could do this on their own. On the plane ride home, Toad sat next to me, and we talked.

"You're going to follow me around everywhere when we get back, aren't you?" I asked him.

"Yeah, pretty much. You ran off, princess. Twice!" He told me. I held back a giggle. It wasn't my fault they couldn't run fast enough to catch me!

"At least you know why I did it. But I did learn something at Bowser's castle." I said.

"Really? What would that be?" He questioned.

"That he's a bigger idiot than I thought! If I just ask sweetly, I can get him to do almost anything I ask! It was actually a bit ridiculous." I laughed.

"Yeah, but it might not always work, princess. And I think Toadsworth is going to lecture you 'till tomorrow! He was really upset when you left, you know… Although, I've got to admit, it was pretty funny watching him run around screaming 'oh! The horror!'" Toad snickered.

"I can imagine! I know it probably shouldn't be funny, but Toadsworth always makes me laugh." I grinned. We giggled some more, and the rest of the flight was spent talking about what made us laugh.

**(Going to Mario, Luigi, and Prince Peasley now)**

Prince Peasley, Mario, and Luigi were exploring the caverns of Chucklehuck Woods again. They were going down the tunnel that the prince had been held captive in. It was mostly just a straight path with a few battle on the way. When they reached a fork in the path, they stopped.

"We should probably go left here." Mario mused.

"What if there's nothing more but dead ends here?" the prince said.

"Come on, don't lose hope! If there's even a chance the queen is here, we need to keep searching!" Luigi told him.

"I suppose you're right, but this feels like a trap." Peasley hesitated.

"I don't think there's anything else to be worried about. Let's-a-go!" Mario said. They finally took the left path and walked on for a long time. There were no battles, and every so often the path curved, so it felt like they were just going in a big circle. Eventually, they made it right back to the fork in the tunnel.

"Maybe we should go right this time?" Mario suggested.

"Alright, but if we don't find anything, we're leaving." The prince told him. The Marios' agreed, and they took the right path until the glow in the walls turned to a vibrant blue and they could see a bright light at the end of the tunnel. They walked in, and suddenly the lights went out and an evil voice chortled with delight.

"Fawful is delighted that you came! This will be the whipped cream of goodness on top of Cackletta's ice creamed plan!"

**(Back to Peach!)**

Three days after I got back home, everyone was still in a bit of a panic. I was hardly left alone, and most of the time they wouldn't even let me outside! As if that would help. But finally, it was just Toad watching my every move, though securities were still tightened. I was considering trying to get back to the Beanbean Kingdom, but I knew it would be useless unless someone else - like Toad or Toadsworth - agreed. So there was only one thing I could do: convince one of them to get me out of the castle as fast as possible, in the hopes that the Beanbean Kingdom might actually be safer for me. And I knew just how to do it.

"Come on, Toad, it's boring in here. A walk in the garden would be a better use of our time." I told him.

"No can do, princess, they're checking the gardens for intruders right now, you're not allowed out." He replied.

"Fine, but you know it's not even safe here anymore. Bowser has invaded more than once!"

"Yeah, but Bowser's in the Beanbean Kingdom right now, and he probably hasn't figured out that you've come back. Besides, there isn't really anyone else who'd attack right now."

"Bowser's not here, sure, but did the little Koopa brats leave with him? I didn't notice any at his castle."

"You're right! If Bowser finds that you aren't in the Beanbean Kingdom, he'll get the Koopa kids to look for you here! Stay right here, I've got to put the other guards on alert." He told me before he ran off.

_Yeah, it's not like they're already on high alert. Besides, stay right here, in this spot? I could never! _Now all I had to do was convince Toad that, if they might come, I'd have to be as far away from here as possible. I waited until he got back.

"Toad, if they're really planning on coming, we should go. They always check the castle first!" I said.

"No way, princess! You've gotta stay here!" He argued. Well, I could always come up with another plan.

"Fine, but I'm staying in here. It's so obvious, it's probably the last place they'll look. But don't say I didn't warn you."

"Alright…" He looked quite a bit less sure of himself now. I guess he wanted to put even more security up, because he left the room, leaving two guards at the door just in case.

Now I really had to come up with a new plan, since it was obvious no one was going to let me out, no matter what. _I could pretend to come down with a cold tomorrow or something… Then, maybe I can stay in my room and build something to escape!_ After I thought it, I realized how ridiculous it sounded. I could escape from Bowser's castle, sure, but try and escape mine? My own home?! I wished that Mario and Luigi would just find Queen Bean so the search could be over and this wouldn't be as complicated! But since that wasn't likely to happen anytime soon, I started brainstorming ways to leave the castle without anyone noticing.

**(To M&amp;L, and Peasley!)**

Mario woke up in a small, square room. Luigi and the prince weren't anywhere around him, and it was a bit erie. He tried the door, but to no avail. He remembered seeing Fawful, and then… nothing. He _had_ mentioned something about Cackletta though, so at least there was evidence all the theories were true.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Mario shouted through a crack in the bottom of the door.

"Mario? Is that you?!" Luigi shouted back from somewhere to the left.

"Yes! Is the prince with you?"

"No, I'm over here." Prince Peasley said from the right. "Anybody know where we are?"

"No idea, but we should stop talking and try getting out!" Mario said.

"Agreed." Both voices replied, and the talking ceased. Mario looked around in his items to see what he had that might help, and found a crowbar. He stared at it for a few seconds, wondering why he hadn't thought of it when they were freeing the prince from Chucklehuck Woods.

Then he shrugged and started banging on the door with it. It had to break sometime, right? But no, his efforts remained fruitless, yet he kept at it for some time. Luigi was distracted from Mario's insistent pounding and couldn't concentrate on what might help them escape. He finally found a Raccoon Suit at the bottom of his bag and, without giving it too much thought, put it on. This didn't help much, but like Mario, he didn't give up. Meanwhile, Prince Peasley was trying out some magic on the keyhole in attempt to maybe destroy the door safely. He underestimated the effects, and the whole door, frame and all, exploded.

The echo was so loud that it drowned out Mario's pitiful attempt to knock his door down, and he stopped.

"What happened? Are you guys okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Luigi answered. They strained to hear the prince's reply, but there was no more sound.

**(Back to Peach, now that you're curious about M&amp;L)**

One hour after my conversation with Toad, I was still thinking about what to do. Then I heard screams from Toad Town. I looked out my window and gasped, both in pure awe that it was such a coincidence and because I was a more than a bit nervous about the scene that was playing out before me. The Koopa kids and what looked like an entire army of Chain Chomps were heading straight towards the castle!

I ran to my door and opened it, but I didn't see Toad, or the guards that were there earlier. They must already be preparing to defend the castle. I ran to the stairs and got halfway down before I stopped, because Toad was on his way up. We were just short of crashing into each other, but I didn't care. This wasn't the chance I'd been waiting for, but after we got rid of those Chain Chomps and really focused, it might work in my favor anyway.

"Toad! Come on! We've got to stop those Chain Chomps!" I told Toad.

"Princess! We're going to try and sneak you out of the castle!" He gasped at the same time. We took a second to stare at each other, then simultaneously said, "Are you crazy?!"

Sure, my plan was to get out of the castle, but those Chomps had to go! Before I had a chance to react, though, he grabbed my hand and practically dragged me down the stairs and to an emergency exit.

"Those Koopa brats won't stand a chance against all of us! And Toad Town is in danger!" I said. Toad stopped to consider that for a moment.

"We've already got Toads defending the town, and I need to get you somewhere safe." He shrugged.

"You know I'm not going to take that as an excuse. If you won't let me help defend, then I'm going somewhere _far _away to be safe."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but if I don't at least accompany you, Toadsworth'll blow a fuse." He shrugged.

"You mean you're coming with me?!" I grinned.

"I knew you were planning to go back anyway, it's my job to try and protect you, so let's go!" He replied.

**More happy holidays, since this is all uploaded on the same day, and it's still before Christmas :P**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: FINALLY! I mean, HELLO! I'm done with this next chapter :D It'll probably be the last one I upload before Christmas, just because I love this story so much, and I don't want to end it so soon. Anyway, catchphrase time (no matter how annoyed you get with it)! ENJOY!**

Five minutes after we'd gotten past the castle gardens, I stopped and looked back.

"They'll destroy everything if they don't find me there." I said.

"If we go back, they might actually capture you." Toad replied.

"They'd only bring me back to the Beanbean Kingdom, I could probably fool Bowser again if the worst happened."

"So you want to go back?"

"I'm not leaving everyone out in the open to run around and panic! Besides, we both know the other guards aren't really trained to fight."

"...Good point." Toad nodded. We doubled back and ran inside, then hid behind some columns just before Iggy, Lemmy, Ludwig, Larry, Wendy, Morton and Roy stormed in. Everyone who was in the castle was now fighting the Chain Chomps outside, and probably weren't going to come back anytime soon. So, it was just us against all of these Koopas. _Good things they're not very smart. _

"Come on, spread out and search! She's gotta be here somewhere!" Roy told his siblings. _With all of them, though… They're burly, I'll give them that…_

"It's just us here against them, do you think we have any chance of winning?" I whispered to Toad.

"Not really, not if we try taking them head-on all together like that, but if we find them once they split up, it shouldn't be too much of a problem." He whispered back. So we waited until they finally did split up. Once only Iggy and Lemmy remained, we charged out at them from behind the columns, but we didn't surprise them too much.

"Hello there, princess! We came all the way from Koopa Castle to get you, isn't that nice? Now, do us a favor and just surrender. We can't stay too long." Iggy told me. For some reason, his calmness was infuriating.

"Not a chance! Aren't you guys getting a little tired of this repeat anyway? Go find yourselves some damsel in distress that cares!" I retorted. They gave each other a glance and shrugged before they grabbed my arms and held me in place. This did catch me a little off guard, because I was expecting a battle.

"HEY! LET GO!" I yelled at them.

"Well well well, looks like we've caught ourselves some damsel in distress who cares, right Lemmy? Let's take her to the others." Iggy snickered.

"Wait Iggy! Should we take the mushroom too? He's seen too much!" Lemmy replied.

"No way! Drop the princess and leave, Koopas!" Toad told them, with what looked like an attempt at a fierce expression on his face. The Koopas simply laughed and Iggy picked him up. They didn't seem to mind our thrashing as they gathered up their siblings.

"Okay guys, let's get them back to the castle. I'm sure King Dad'll be happy we succeeded." Roy told them.

"Well, Princess Toadstool, are you ready to take a little trip?" Wendy asked, though it sounded more like a sneer. I thought quickly. Maybe if I could confuse them enough, make them think I was really just the idiot they thought I was, there was a chance they might actually slip up.

"A trip? Like to Isle Delfino? That sounds wonderful!" I said. Unfortunately, while that seemed to confuse them a bit, they didn't slip up. They shoved me and Toad into one of the Clown Cars and then boarded themselves.

"You know what? I think I've decided not to take this trip. It's not the best time, with the Chain Chomps trying to destroy the castle and all... You should try again another time!" I tried. They just ignored me again.

"Good try." Toad whispered encouragingly. I gave him a small smile. At least I always found a plan B at Bowser's castle. Usually it didn't work, but with the Koopa Kids it would probably be easier. They weren't any more intelligent than their father.

I kept complaining during the ride, if only to annoy them. When we finally landed, they pushed and shoved us inside, giving us a dungeon instead of the other accommodations. The door slammed shut, and I was about to make another very loud complaint about the rough treatment until I realized how much I sounded like Wendy when I tried to be annoying. Ew. I looked around the dungeon and started feeling a lot better. I knew there'd be a plan B!

"Come on, I know how to trick those Koopa fool!" I told Toad.

"Come on, you already tried complaining! This dungeon doesn't even have windows!" He argued.

"Oh, stop being negative and get on the ceiling." I sighed. He looked at me quizzically, asking for an explanation. "Remember when I was planning my birthday party, and Bowser came and turned most of the kingdom to stone, and he almost got away with marrying me, and Luigi dressed up as me?"

"Hehehe, yeah! It was pretty clever, and those Koopas never noticed!" He replied.

"Exactly! I escaped the dungeon the first time by clinging to the ceiling, and when they came in to get me they didn't even look up! I think it might work again, let's just hope. And hurry!"

**(Perspective change to the marios and Peasley)**

Mario's door clanged a bit from the outside and then swung open.

"Sorry about that, the explosion caught me off guard! It's a good thing I carry extra mushrooms." Prince Peasley said. Then he went to open Luigi's door. Mario looked at the remains of what was Peasley's door.

"Do you carry extra explosives too?!" Mario asked him.  
"No, that was magic. A kind I'm not very good at using, mind you." He replied.

"Well, at least we can find a way out now!" Luigi grinned.

"Not so fast! What if the queen is here too? That maniacal fiend, Fawful, got us here, it's possible that he brought her too!" Peasley pointed out. He had a point, so they looked around a bit. The corridor they were in seemed to go on forever, though, and besides more locked doors, there was nothing. No amount of shouting made a difference, either.

"This is getting us nowhere fast, what do you two think we should do now?" Peasley asked after a while.

"How about we try to find the exit? Who knows, we might find the queen on the way out." Luigi said.

"Okay, Weegee, we'll look for the exit." Mario replied.

"You two turn around and check the other way, I'll keep going. If I find her and you guys haven't come back, we'll know to head that way." Peasley told them. He seemed so sure he'd find her that they consented. So Mario and Luigi turned around to look for an exit, unbeknownst of the dangers ahead, or rather, behind them.

**(Perspective change to Peachy!)**

I was having a really tough time hanging onto the ceiling. Maybe it was because I'd only ever done it once, or maybe just the fact that we'd been waiting so long that my grip was slipping. Toad didn't look too great, either. Couldn't they just hurry up and open the door?! I'd be surprised if I had the strength to fight them at all when they did. Then, I heard voices.

"King Daddyyyyy!" I heard Wendy whine, "When will you be back? The princess is so annoying!" _I'm annoying? _

"Did I just hear you call my future bride ANNOYING?!" Bowser roared. I very nearly lost my grip. The things I was thinking were far from what Toadsworth would call ladylike.

"N-No, King Daddy." Wendy half whimpered, half pouted.

"Good! I'll be back in about an hour, and Kamek'll have all the preparations set up. Make sure to take very good care of Peachy!" He ordered. I swear I threw up in my mouth a little, both because I was hanging almost completely upside down and because I was really disgusted.

"He's _still_ calling her Peachy?! What's he thinking?" Ludwig chortled, and his siblings laughed along with him. My thoughts exactly.

"We should probably check on the princess, guys." Lemmy said. Wendy immediately disagreed.

"I've got to go rearrange my closet!" She told them. Morton probably left, because I heard very heavy footsteps fading away, and Roy, Larry and Iggy also very conveniently found something else to do.

"Guess it's just you and me, bro." Lemmy told Ludwig. A few seconds later, the door opened, and they both gasped. The trick worked again!

"She's not here! What'll we tell King Dad?!" Ludwig asked frantically.

"Wait, don't be fooled, there's no way they could've gotten out without us seeing!" Lemmy answered. Before he could look up, I gave Toad the signal, and we jumped down, landing on their heads. They were both KO'd, so they wouldn't be nuisances to us. Hopefully the other Koopas were far away.

"Come on, if I'm right, there's magic capes around here!" I told toad, and together we headed down the nearest corridor. We soon found ourselves next to Wendy's room, just like I planned. We had to get her out of there!

"Okay, we have to get her out of there before Bowser gets back! Otherwise, there's no way we'll get out of here. The capes should be in her closet." I explained.

"Right! I'll create a distraction, and you grab the capes, then we'll fly outta here!" Toad replied.

"You've got to get back here, though, because there's a window that's perfect for the escape. Let's just hope they aren't smart enough to grab the Clown Car before we land." I said. He nodded, and I went to hide behind a statue. I heard Toad knock on the door.

"WHAT IS IT? I'M BUSY!" Wendy shouted.

"I just wanted to ask if you knew where the exit was, since I escaped. But since you're busy, I guess I'll just find it myself!" Toad taunted before stepping away.

There was a moment before Wendy opened the door, Toad ran, and she gave in to the chase.

"GET BACK IN THE DUNGEON, FUNGUS FACE!" She shrieked as they rounded the corner. With that voice, I knew I didn't have too much time left. I ran into the room and closed the door, then headed straight for the dresser. No capes. The wardrobe? No capes there, either. Finally, I found a hidden block right next to her bed that produced two capes. I wondered why she even bothered to keep these here. From her closet, they weren't anything she liked, and she never had to worry about using them with the Clown Cars. Before I could dwell on the subject too long, Toad came back into the room and slammed the door shut, completely out of breath.

"Not… much time!" He gasped.

"Here's your cape, let's get out of here!" I said, tossing him one. He took it and we ran to the window, where we jumped from the ledge. It's a good thing I wasn't afraid of heights. I couldn't say the same for Toad, though. We slowly descended and landed in a clump of trees just before a Clown Car flew overhead.

"I don't think they'll find us here, at least not yet. What should we do now?" I asked Toad. He held up a hand, and I waited until he could talk.

"It's your call, princess. Everyone's going to blow a fuse when we get back, no matter what. But since Bowser's coming back here, and it's not safe, it _would_ be better to hide out in the Beanbean Kingdom." He shrugged.

"You got it! Let's go, then, I can't stand another minute here." I said. So we left on foot for the Beanbean Kingdom, always wary of our surroundings.

**(M&amp;L and Peasley)**

Mario and Luigi had been walking for a full hour. Mario was ready to give up hope of finding an exit this way, but Luigi was trying to stay optimistic.

"Keep up, Mario! I might be around that bend!" Luigi told his brother.

"Weegee, that's what you've been saying for an hour now. If it's taken that long, we probably won't find it anytime soon." Mario replied.

"That's just what the bad guys want us to think! It could be hours away, but we'll just have to keep looking!"

"Let's go back and help the prince look for Queen Bean. That's sure to be a bit more productive than this, face it!"

"Alright, but if there's nothing that way then we're coming back here."

"Sure, Luigi." Mario said, and they turned around to go back to the prince. However, nothing could have possibly prepared them for what they would find. The prince was surprised, too!


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note: I keep saying it'll be awhile until my next upload, and then I take less than a week to upload. Anyway, hello there! Listen guys, I've got a poll on chapter three of my Super Princess Peach fiction, and it's not too late to send me your answers! You have ****until I'm finished with that fiction**** and then I will create a new story based on what you want! So far I have one vote for Memories and one vote for Super Mario Sunshine two. If you don't like those ideas, then vote! Enjoy!**

**(Peach time!)**

Toad and I had been walking for hours. I could only hope this was really the direction of the Beanbean Kingdom. Toad seemed to know where he was going. We stopped under a tree to rest for a bit and gather our strength for another long walk.

"Princess, are you sure we're going the right way? The border line is in Stardust Fields, after all." Toad asked.

"What? I thought you were leading the way!" I replied.

"Oh, uh, no. I figured we were just guessing our way there." He said.

"What do we do now?"

"Well, one thing's for sure. There's no way we can go back to the Mushroom Kingdom until somebody can deal with Bowser and the Koopa Kids. It's not like we can go back to the castle, anyway." He shrugged.

"Well, this _should_ be the way, so if we keep walking, eventually we'll find our way. I wonder what Mario and Luigi are doing, and if they've succeeded in finding the queen."

"If they did, I wonder who was guarding her? Maybe Cackletta. I hope they beat her."

"Yeah, maybe they did. I guess we'll find out when we get there. Come on, Toad, let's go." I said. He nodded and followed my lead. For a long time, we were silent. In fact, the silence was so deafening, I just started thinking of people talking so it would be louder.

We kept up like that for some time, until I stopped, realizing that Stardust Fields was right in front of us. It wasn't much longer to Castle Town now! We could make it there before sundown and then stop to rest!

"Let's hurry and we can get there faster." I told Toad. We started towards the fields and my thoughts went back to what Mario and Luigi might be doing.

**(M&amp;L and Peasley)**

Mario and Luigi ran along the corridor, and they'd still yet to see the prince. Just when they were wondering if they should just stop and wait for him, they crashed into him! They fell to the floor and it took a minute to get their bearings back.

"Guys, we've got to run! NOW! There's nothing we can do about this situation right now, but we have to get out of here!" The prince gasped. He'd obviously been running a lot. Whatever he was running from, it had really scared him.

"Well, there's no exit that way. At least, not as far as we can tell. What's wrong-" Mario started to ask, but the prince cut him off. He grabbed Mario and Luigi's arms and started half-dragging them the way they'd come.

"Woah, woah! Just tell us!" Luigi said as they stumbled along.

"As soon as you pick up the pace!" The prince snapped, and they complied. "It's Cackletta. I really didn't want to believe she was back, but she's back."

Mario spluttered something incoherent, agreeing that he couldn't really believe it either. He was so convinced Cackletta hadn't _really_ survived that castle explosion on their last trip that he ripped his hand from Peasley's grip and turned around to see what had freaked out so usually oh-so-calm prince so badly.

"Mario, what are you waiting for? A cup of tea?! Let's get out of here!" Prince Peasley called back at him.

"Prince Peasley, we didn't find an exit. For all we know, this thing goes on forever! We just have to face what's com-" Mario was cut off yet again, this time by an unearthly roar.

They all looked down the hallway and the Bros. finally saw what the prince was so terrified of. It was Queen Bean, but she looked kind of like she did when she'd eaten the Belly-Belch worm. She had purple skin, a longer-than-natural serpent's tongue, teeth as sharp as talons and a crazed look that would make any brave soldier of the Beanbean Army turn and run. And she was barreling towards them at the speed of a Hyper Goomba on Charge. She was a LOT scarier than before!

"O-Okay, we see what you mean! RUN!" Luigi shrieked. They did so, though they were all worn out already from running so much. They still tried to stay ahead of the evil that was chasing them.

"Hurry, in there!" The prince hissed, pointing at an open door. Even if it was a trap, anything was better than staying in this corridor! So they ducked into it and ended up in a very large, very strange room that was colored like a sunset, quite a difference from the bare white walls they were in before. They stood against the wall, breathing as quietly as they possibly could, hoping that the monster didn't decide to look in the room. She didn't, however, and raced right past the door, keeping up a chase that would never end. Unless, of course, she realized that Mario, Luigi, and Prince Peasley were far behind. That meant they had to keep going, and fast!

"Alright, so, this is different. We should look for another door." The prince sighed.

"That sounds like a good idea." Mario huffed, and Luigi agreed with an eager nod. The colorful room led out into another hallway where there was nothing except a lone door.

"I wonder if that's the exit?" Prince Peasley wondered aloud.

"It's got to be!" Luigi said. Mario went to open the door. He was cautious, like there might be a trip wire somewhere, but there weren't any. When he looked out the door, he just stood there, dumbfounded.

"Mario, what's out there?" The prince asked.

"...It's Beanbean Castle." Mario told him, still stupefied.

"What? Impossible! Is that the courtyard? There's nothing there! There never has been, it's just a clearing I used to play in!" The prince said, now as mystified as Mario. They all stepped outside, and turned around. Just like the prince had said, there was nothing there. Nothing but an open door, anyway. Mario shut it, and it disappeared! Luigi tried to open it again, but he only grabbed at thin air.

"This is a strange turn of events… It's dangerous that Cackletta has access to this spot. We should plan our next move carefully, since we won't be able to subdue the queen… uh, Cackletta. Never mind that, let's just get back to the castle." The prince said, shaking his head. He still sounded thoroughly confused, though. So they headed back into the castle, and found Princess Peach and Toad waiting for them in the Great Hall.

**(Back to Peach)**

"Mario! Luigi! Prince Peasley! I'm glad you're all okay!" I greeted them when they walked in. I have to say, it was a big surprise, and they came out of practically nowhere, but I was glad to see them. Hopefully they wouldn't make too big of an argument to send me back to the Mushroom Kingdom, because I was tired of those arguments.

Princess? What are you doing here?" Mario asked. _Lovely to see you too, Mario. _

"The Koopalings came, and Bowser said he was coming back to the kingdom, so Toad and I fled, figuring that it would take Bowser some time to realize that we were gone." I said. I purposely left out the fact that he wanted to force me into marriage again. That's something none of us needed to swell on long.

"I figured you guys could protect her better than anyone else." Toad added helpfully.

"I'm sorry, princess, but it just became much too dangerous for any of you to be here. I'll arrange for you to leave as soon as possible, but the problem might become too much for any of us to handle." Prince Peasley told me.  
"You know it would be a lot less hazardous if we stayed to help. Plus, it's going to take a lot to convince any of us to leave." Mario replied.

"If Cackletta intends to fight like that, hardly anyone will be able to stand up to her, let alone defeat her. She's got a fair chance at winning this time." The prince said.

"She'll have a better chance if we don't try!" Luigi argued.

"So you're all absolutely sure that you're up for this?" The prince asked.

"You bet!" We chorused simultaneously.

"Alright, I suppose I can accept that." He sighed. "Well, let's plan a way to stop Cackletta and save the queen. But first, I believe we need to enlighten Toad and the princess of our finds."

So they told us about the corridors they'd been held in and the one-way door. They also told us about Queen Bean, and how she was now possessed.

"So, what do you purpose we do?" Prince Peasley asked.

"Well, I don't know how we're supposed to find an invisible castle, or even a hidden one, seeing as how we've already looked pretty much everywhere, but how about we look around the last place you saw it? Or felt it, however you know it's invisible." Toad suggested.

"Yes, that should be a good start. We didn't look around too carefully after we got out." The prince admitted. So he led us outside to the courtyard and we started searching.

"We came out about here," Mario told me and Toad, pointing to a spot, "so there might be something close by that we overlooked." We searched for a half hour and found nothing before thinking of other ways that we could get to Cackletta.

"Maybe we should try another spot? Somewhere that might be more likely a hideout for her. I don't think she'd stay in one place for too long, so if the castle was here and you escaped she might have moved it. We don't know if she'd using magic, right?" I said.

"Okay, but where should we look? As far as we know, she wasn't at Joke's End, Chucklehuck Woods, Woohoo Hooniversity, Teehee Valley… she's just too good at hiding this time!" The prince said.

"Oh, I know! How about we check out Stardust Fields? And we haven't checked Gwarhar Lagoon, right?" Luigi suggested.

"Yeah, and Hoohoo Mountain might not be a bad place to check, either." Mario added.

"Well, I agree that Stardust fields might be a good place to check, but the other places just don't make sense. Cackletta hates Hoohoo Mountain, and everyone would know if something suddenly appeared there. Bladlanadon would have alerted me already, and Gwarhar Lagoon is too small of a spot for her to hide at, especially with that really long corridor. It was longer than the whole perimeter of the island!" The prince said.

"Well, then I guess we're going to Stardust Fields." Toad said.

"We can go up Hoohoo Mountain and do a quick search there, then continue to the fields. Anyone with me?" I asked. The others agreed to the plan. We decided to gear up before we started the trek to Hoohoo Mountain.

**Don't forget to read ****chapter three of the Super Princess Peach**** fiction to vote for what story I should write next!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's note: Sorry I haven't updated in awhile, I got lazy. That, and I've been reading a lot. And I finally got Kingdom Hearts, so that's taken up a lot of my time. I promise I'll update Super Princess Peach soon! LoZ is gonna have to wait, though. It's just going slow. Enjoy! And Happy New Year :D **

**(To the Koopalings)**

"HAVE YOU FOUND HER YET?!" Bowser yelled at Iggy, Lemmy and Roy though the communicator.

"No, King Dad, we haven't found her yet, but we don't know where else to search." Iggy said. "Besides,she couldn't go too far in the kingdom without one of our minions spotting her, and we've searched every inch of her stupid castle!" Roy spat.

"Maybe you should check in the Beanbean Kingdom? She might've gone there!" Lemmy suggested.

"IDIOTS! If she came here, SOMEONE WOULD HAVE SEEN HER! She's a princess, anywhere she went there would be a crowd! USE YOUR HEADS! I can't marry her if she's not here, so GO FIND HER!" Bowser scolded, and finally hung up.

"You know what? I think he's taking this too far. I mean, the princess doesn't like him, or she'd stick around! Right?" Lemmy asked.

"Are you really that stupid?! Of course she doesn't like him! He can't seem to get that through his thick head! Let's just go tell Kamek that he needs to find her. It'd definitely be a lot easier, and we won't have to waste our time. Plus, we'd get to take the credit!" Roy said.

"That sounds like a great idea! But… Kamek's never that reliable. If he fails, we blame it on him." Iggy told them. They agreed on the plans, and went to go see Kamek.

"Kamek, we need you to find Princess Peach for us." Roy told the Koopa Wizard when they barged into his room.

"What am I supposed to do, wave a wand over a crystal ball and instantly be able to tell where she is?!" Kamek retorted.

"Stop being sarcastic and get to work." Roy growled.

"Besides, we KNOW you have a crystal ball! Stop playing around!" Lemmy told him. Kamek sighed but did as they told him.

"This only works with powerful Koopa Wizard magic, you know. I'll need someone else here." Kamek told them. So they summoned another wizard and the two got to work trying to figure out where the princess was.

"Hmm… it looks like… she's near a mountain. With lots of Bean people. There's a waterfall-" Kamek began, but Roy cut him off.

"JUST TELL US!" He yelled.

"I just did. Judging by my _excellent_ description, she's in the Beanbean Kingdom, on a mountain." Kamek informed them. The three Koopalings gave each other evil grins and stumbled over one another racing to get out the door. They figured they could capture the princess better than their father could! After they left, Kamek turned to his fellow Koopa Wizard.

"Ugh, I need a raise if Bowser expects me to obey him AND those little brats!"

**(Back to Peach!)**

Night had finally fallen and we stopped under the cover of a few rocks to rest and build a fire. Hoohoo Mountain certainly was cold at night.

"It's not very far to the town, we shouldn't stay here long." Prince Peasley said.

"Yes, we should get moving soon. What do we do when we get to the top?" I asked.

"I say we eat and get a good sleep, then we'll be better prepared to tackle Cackletta!" Mario suggested. We all agreed, doused the fire after a few more moments, and continued up the mountain.

Within ten minutes, we found a mine shaft.

"Hello there." An old Bean person with a beard greeted as we entered to look for a shortcut. "What're you fellas doin' here?"

"We were just looking for a faster way up the mountain, sir. Do you know if these old minecarts work?" I asked, gesturing to a set of four minecarts.

"They sure do, feller! I'm here to show passerby the wonders of the mine!" He said.

"That's wonderful! May we take a ride?" Prince Peasley asked.

"Certainly! When you're all settled in, I'll tell you the rules of the mine!" So Mario and Luigi shared one cart, Prince Peasley had his own, Toad got into a cart with me, and the fourth cart held the stranger.

"Alright fellers', listen up! Rule number one is to keep your hands and feet inside the cart AT ALL TIMES and pretend it's a roller coaster. It's more fun that way. The second rule you have to really pay attention to is HAVE FUN!" The old Bean yelled before he pulled a lever. The brakes released and we all started sliding down the tracks. I tried to imagine this as a roller coaster as we plunged downward, but there was one very big difference between roller coasters and the mine carts. Roller coasters were fun!

"AHH!" I screamed, covering my eyes as we picked up speed. I couldn't even figure out why we were going downhill if we wanted to go uphill! And somehow, closing my eyes made it feel so much worse, but I didn't open them until we hit a bump signaling out stop.

We got out of the carts, and I was the only one who really seemed shaken by the experience, aside from Luigi. We exited the mine and looked around to find that our long ride wasn't all that helpful. I could still see where we were resting fifteen minutes ago! _No wonder there were so many steep hills! It's just a tourist attraction, not a shortcut. Well, it'll take a lot to get me on that again!_ A half hour later, which could have been shorter had we not taken that POINTLESS cart ride, we arrived in a dark Hoohoo Village.

There weren't any inns, so we had to make do with a few makeshift tents in a secluded camping spot. Even though I was tired, it was hard to fall asleep. I had that dream again, and when I woke up I tried not to make a fool of myself by looking like a lovesick puppy. _I wonder if Mario ever thinks that way about me?_ I tried to focus my thoughts again and cooked some mushrooms for breakfast. Then we started the walk up the mountain again, drawing quite a few awed looks for the villagers.

"It's Prince Peasley!"

"LOOK AT THAT! Princess Peach is here!"

"EEEK! PRINCE PEASLEY!"

"Mario's HERE! I mean, HE'S HERE!"

"I wish I had my camera!"

We did our best to ignore everyone, but they still gawked. Not only did they stare at us, but they also forgot Toad and Luigi! They were important too. We kept walking until we got to Stardust Fields. I looked up and realized that the sky was dark and starry. I thought it was only called Stardust Fields because parts of stars were on the ground, but apparently the sky never changed!

"Okay, we should split up and search both ends of these fields." The prince told us.

"Splitting up hasn't been a good idea so far." Toad interjected.

"Third time's the charm, right?" Mario said. It took some convincing, but everyone agreed to split up. It was decided that I would go with Prince Peasley this time, since we could defend ourselves well, to search the north side of the fields, and that Mario, Luigi and Toad would go together to search the south side of the fields.

After we split up, the prince and walked on for what seemed like forever, and given what we'd seen before I half expected to see a giant hole in the ground. We were both extremely surprised when, after nearing the border, we slammed into a wall!

"What is this?" I asked, tapping the air in front of me with wide eyes. It was obviously a building, but I just couldn't tell what it was supposed to be beyond that.

"This is our key to Cackletta! It's out of sight, where no one usually comes, and big enough for a castle. Let's find the door! Once we do, we can make haste back to the others. They must know of this!" The prince said excitedly, giving me a smile.

So we felt around, but to no avail.

"There's not a very good chance we can find a door if we can't even see the wall. We should go see if Mario, Luigi, and Toad have found anything that might help." I told him. He nodded, and we turned around to tell the others of our find.

**(A quick break with the Koopalings who went out to look for the princess)**

Iggy, Roy, Lemmy, and also Ludwig, who had joined them as they were leaving Koopa Castle, were nearing Hoohoo Mountain in their Clown Cars. The party of four were hoping to kidnap the princess again and maybe scare some tourists while they were at it.

"Alright, everybody split up. She's gotta be here somewhere!" Roy ordered, ignoring the screams around them as they landed.

"Okay! I'll search a little farther down the mountain." Iggy told him. They all split up and looked around, hoping they could find someone to point them to the princess.

"YOU! Have you seen Princess Peach here? Tell me!" Lemmy commanded, cornering a helpless Bean person.

"I- I don't know where she went! I swear! But she was here a few hours ago! Just let me go!" The Bean begged.

"Hey Luddy! She's close! Question everyone!" Lemmy yelled to his brother. They told Roy and eventually got around to telling Iggy. Then they finally got an answer.

"Yes, she went into Stardust Fields! I don't know any more than that." A tourist whimpered, pointing to the area. So the Koopalings decided to take their chances and left town, much to the relief of the people, and split up to find the princess. Roy and Iggy went north, and Lemmy and Ludwig went south. They knew they would catch her here.

**(Back to Peach)**

I wonder how far ahead they are?" I wondered aloud as we walked south, trying to meet up with the others.

"I don't know, but it's going to take a long time to get back to that castle once we find them." The prince sighed. I stopped when I saw a couple people in the misty distance.

"Hey, is that them?" I asked.

"It's unlikely to be anyone else, the villagers wouldn't like to come here, there's too many monsters. But… why are there only two of them?" He said, and I looked closer. He was right! We had stopped walking and were just examining whoever it was when they must have noticed us, because they started running.

"I don't think it's them! Our news can wait, and I really don't want to find out what we're in for!" I said. We turned and ran. I had no idea how fast the mysterious visitors were, but it didn't look like they were gaining on us when I looked over my shoulder. That was a good sign.

The bad part about this was that the land was so barren, there was no where to hide when we couldn't run anymore!

"Do we just keep running, or do we stop and find out who that is?!" I gasped, just before we smacked into the invisible wall.

"I don't think we have much of a choice anymore." Prince Peasley groaned. We stood up and turned to wait for the strangers to come closer. After a few minutes, I recognized them: Roy and Iggy!

"Oh no! Those are Koopalings! What should we do?!" I asked. I wasn't about to go back to Bowser!

"Do you mind running again? In that direction?" Prince Peasley said, pointing to the east.

"Not at all. Let's go!" I said. So we took off once more, though I wondered if we'd get away. We had let them come a bit too close, and they were closing the distance between us dangerously fast.

**(To the Marios' real quick)**

"Hey Mario, who's that?" Luigi asked, pointing through the mist to two figures. They had stopped to rest for a few minutes.

"It's gotta be the prince and the princess, we're the only ones here, Weegee!" Mario replied.

"Uh, Mario? I think you should take a bit of a closer look." Toad told him. He did look closer, and saw that it couldn't be their friends, not with the spikes and huge bodies!

"Let's at least see who they are. Maybe they're the borderline patrol coming to give us some help." Mario suggested. But as the figures got closer, they realized it was none other than Ludwig and Lemmy Koopa.

"Great! First Bowser, now these guys! Let's show 'em who's boss!" Toad said.

So they all got up and ran straight for the Koopa Kids.

"Darn! Isn't the princess with you? King Dad's getting impatient!" Lemmy pouted.

"No, she's not." Luigi replied.

"And once we defeat you, we'll go warn her that the Koopa Kids are here!" Toad told them.  
"Oh, you think we came alone? Roy and Iggy went the other way! While they're kidnapping our dear princess, I think we'll teach you a lesson." Ludwig smirked. And so a battle began.

**I hope you liked reading this, and if you want me to write more fictions go to CHAPTER THREE of Super Princess Peach and vote on which story I should write next!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: HELLO AGAIN GUYS! :D :D :D So happy to be back! I didn't fall off the face of the earth, I just happened to get back in school. I'm sure everyone who reads this understands that. Also, I hear Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories calling my name again, so it might be awhile until I update Super Princess Peach. Enjoy!**

**(Peach's perspective)**

The Koopas were way too close for comfort.

"Alright, let's just stop! We can't run anymore!" I panted to the prince. He nodded and we stopped, turning and catching them off guard. They were closer than I thought. They skidded to a stop and made a grab for me, but I moved away. Luckily, they looked just as wiped as we were.

"You think it's going to be that easy? Think again!" I told them.

"Alright then, princess. It's your choice!" Iggy shrugged. We started a battle, and it certainly was an interesting one. I opened up with a Star Egg, and Prince Peasley used a Koopa shell, which I could only assume was a big insult to them, because they looked even more mad than before.

Roy used a Chain Chomp attack on me, and Iggy used his wand on the prince. I brought out my frying pan on the next round, and the prince used his turn to heal me. We kept up this repetition for some time until I finally KO'd Roy.

"Don't think you can still win!" Iggy snarled. Somehow, he managed to gain the upper hand, but then we switched tactics. We just kept pounding him until he was KO'd, too. When we were done, we looked around for any more Koopas, and saw Mario, Luigi, and Toad running towards us!

"Hey! Are you guys okay?!" I asked them.

"Yeah, what about you, princess?" Toad asked.

"She did really well fighting those Koopas." The prince answered.

"Yeah, and we found this!" I said as I backed up and touched the wall of the invisible castle.

"Air?" Luigi asked, puzzled.

"No, it may be Cackletta's castle!" The prince said.

"That's bodacious!" Toad exclaimed.

"Have you found a door yet?" Mario asked.

"No, that's why we were about to find you, before the Koopas butted in. There's gotta be a lot of wall here, it's a castle, and we need to spread out to find the door!" I told them. We felt around for a half hour befor Luigi stumbled upon the door, quite literally.

"Hey guys! I think I found it! Or at least some stairs." Luigi called to us as he lifted himself from the ground.

"Great job, Luigi! Now let's get in there!" Toad said. We threw some gravel onto the invisible stairs so that we could see where we were going, and when Mario, who was in the front of our little group, got to the top, he placed a not-so-well-balanced step on the doorframe and tripped inside.

"Mario, are you alright?" I asked. Since he was now inside, I couldn't see him.

"Yes. Come on, you should really see this." He replied. So we carefully got in without tripping over one another and causing too much noise. The second my feet touched the interior of the castle, I could see everything. It was like an artist was creating a painting lightening fast in front of me! It all looked so unrealistic. It was also kind of creepy, because it wasn't quite finished. I guess building a castle this big would take time, but it never seemed to be a problem for Bowser…

But the unfinished setting was just… unsettling. There were no enemies, no lava, nothing at all except to sides. The feeling of emptiness was overwhelming. We started to walk, but no matter how hard I tried looking, I couldn't see the end of the room! _Surely even a castle this big has to have and end, right?_ Maybe not.

"What happens when the Koopas wake up? What if they find their way in here?" I suddenly thought aloud.

"I don't think they'll be much of a problem. The real trouble here is Cackletta. Our best bet is to keep walking and hope that she's still not powerful enough." Prince Peasley sighed. None of us had any reply to that, so we kept walking in silence until, like magic, a huge, ornate door marked the end of the room. Even though I was so eager to see this scenery change, I was a bit afraid of what we might face through that door.

Once we reached it, it took all of us to push it open, and when we looked inside, we gasped simultaneously. The room was about as big as the meeting room in my castle, and in the middle of it, on a huge throne, sat Cackletta, grinning like a maniac. It was the most horrifying sight I'd ever seen, and that was saying a lot.

"Cackletta! Release Queen Bean at once!" Prince Peasley ordered.

"Why should I? Now I can conquer all of the Beanbean Kingdom! I can take back what is rightfully mine! Now, must I teach you a lesson? I have plans to make." Cackletta sniggered.

"If you want to fight me, you'll have to leave the queen's body." The prince said.

"Well, then, I guess you've already surrendered! Have fun in the dungeon!" She told us. I only had a second to be confused, because everything happened so fast. Cackletta pulled a lever next to her chair, the floor opened up underneath us, and we all fell perhaps ten feet into a small, dark room.

The door closed above us, and there was only a sliver of light to illuminate us.

"I'm really sorry, everyone. I just can't face her in that form." The prince told us. I couldn't tell what was going on in his head, but he looked torn between choices.

"Don't worry, we'll think of something." I assured him.

"First, we need to find a way to get out of this dungeon!" Mario said. So we started brainstorming ways to get out. _Maybe we can get her to let us out? If there's one thing all villains share, it's pride. If we make her feel weak, she just may want to try and prove us wrong. Then we can make a run for it! _

"Guys, what if we make fun of her? Make her want to let us out, if only to prove herself?" I suggested.

"That's a wonderful idea!" The prince grinned.

"It just might work!" Luigi said.

"It's definitely worth a try." Toad added.

"I suppose I'd be a worthy opponent for her, since she so desperately wants the kingdom. Let me try." The prince said. "HEY CACKLETTA! ARE YOU TOO SCARED TO FACE ME?!" The dungeon rang with an echo for a moment, but other than that, there was no reply.

Do you think she's not willing to take the bait?" Mario asked. Right after he said that, though, the trapdoor opened.

"I thought it was you who was scared, but if you want to face me, it will be a one-on-one battle, princey. Your friends can be the audience." Cackletta told us. She lowered a rope ladder down and allowed us to climb up.

I started to panic a little. There was no way we could just sit back and watch! She was obviously getting very used to the queen's body, and the prince wouldn't have a chance to defeat her alone!

"If anything goes wrong, we jump in, okay?" I whispered to Mario. He nodded and passed the information along. Cackletta must have felt very confident, as she didn't have any guards in the room at all. Letting us all up here was a mistake on her part. _Or was it? What if this is a trap?_ I shook my head and tried to focus on the battle. Cackletta used a lightning strike, and the prince hesitated before using his star gun. It was definitely a tough battle for him.

After a few minutes, Cackletta used some strange magic to suck some HP from the prince and transfer is to herself. He would be defeated any moment if we didn't help!

"I think it's time to get in that battle!" I told the others. They silently agreed as we ran into that battle.

"This has to be a fair fight." Prince Peasley told us, panting slightly. There was no way I was leaving.

"She's going down, fair fight or not!" I replied. I used my turns to heal the prince. When Cackletta was down to half her health, the real trouble started.

"MINIONS!" She shouted over her shoulder. Through a door I hadn't seen before came trooping a few different things: a Parakoopa, a few Beanies, and her number one assistant, Fawful. This was definitely going to be much more difficult. I had hoped that she would reveal her true form once her health was down enough, but that would actually make her weaker, so we could forget about that idea. And no matter how hard I wished, we were losing. Badly.

"I believe the need to flee this battle has arisen." Prince Peasley told me.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes, we certainly can't beat her yet. Ready? RUN!" He shouted. Apparently Mario, Luigi, and Toad also got the message, because they ran too. We fled towards the exit. I looked back for just one quick moment and realized that Cackletta wasn't following us. Neither were her minions. Either I was right in thinking that it was some kind of trap, or she truly believes that she's won the kingdom. We'll prove her wrong. Once we got out of the castle, we ran for a few more minutes and then stopped.

"I have an idea!" I gasped.

"Maybe we can split up. I must warn the people!" The prince said.

"It's a bit late for that." Mario told him.

"I know, but the news is much better late than never. I can meet up with you later, where are you going?"

"We're going to Oho Oasis, but we'll have to make a stop first." I said.

"Alright then. Don't wait up for me. I'll come when everyone knows of the danger." Prince Peasley told us before taking off towards the mountain.

"Well, come on! We can take a shortcut through Teehee Valley so that we get back to Castle Town faster." Mario said. We all agreed with the idea, and walked a great distance before stopping in front of a chasm.

"Are you sure this is a shortcut, Mario?" I asked.

"Of course I'm sure, princess!" Mario replied.

"Well, let's find a way down soon. I don't see any bridges." I said.

"Hmmm… we could just slide down right here, it's not too steep!" Toad suggested after a few more minutes of walking.

"That's a great idea! Come on!" I grinned. One by one, we carefully slid down the edge of the surprisingly shallow chasm and continued to walk. The landscape was changing now, little by little, and there were a few bushes. Places to hide in case of danger.

I wondered if there would ever come a time where I could visit my friends without something catastrophic happening. Probably not. I have never been that lucky. My thoughts were interrupted when I looked up and realized that we were in Teehee Valley already. The sky was magnificent shades of purple, orange and pink, slowly sinking into the mass of nighttime. I figured we would have enough time to get to Castle Town before we had to stop for the night. It was too dangerous to stay here, anyway. I took a deep breath of the cold, refreshing air and hoping yet again that this would all be over soon.

**PLEASE do not forget to vote on chapter three of the Super Princess Peach fanfic! I do want ideas so that I can start working on a new story so that you don't have to wait as long! I will also be having a poll for new Legend of Zelda stories soon, so keep an eye open for that!**

**Also, I may be starting an "ask the characters!" sort of story soon. If you have some question to ask a Mario character, just leave a review with the question in it so I can get that story going! **


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's note: HELLO GUYS! Sorry this chapter took so long, I've been trying to think up something for the next LoZ chapter and writing Luigi's Diary. Also, spoilers, the next chapter of this is the last one, so I'll have more time to work on my other fictions :) I hope you enjoy this one!**

**(Very quick Koopa interlude)**

"Would it kill you to stop yelling?! Yeah, she got away. It's not the end of the world, we just have to catch her off guard next time!" Roy told Bowser through the communicator.

"Fine. But make ABSOLUTELY SURE that you don't screw up this time!" Bowser ordered before hanging up. Roy turned to the others.

"Okay, everyone split up! Search every corner of this stupid kingdom and find the princess, or King Dad's gonna blow another fuse!" He said. The others nodded and headed to different corners of the kingdom.

"That princess had better hope I don't find her first!" Roy grumbled as he headed for Castle Town.

**(That was quick! Back to Peach!)**

Castle Town was still in a state of disrepair, but at least the shops were open. I was afraid that I drew a bit too much attention to our party, so I bought a blue cape to have a better chance of blending in. We ate and found a little inn to rest in, and when we woke up there was a commotion outside. It was the same state of chaos that the villagers on Hoohoo Mountain were in. When we finally got a look, I saw that Prince Peasley was in the middle of the crowd trying to calm everyone down.

"Don't worry! Cackletta won't be here for long, I'll make sure of that!" He was saying. He caught my eye and gestured towards the castle, slowing removing himself from the crowd. Eventually, we made it inside.

"Sorry about that, they aren't used to being attacked so they can get a bit dramatic. Where are you going again?" The prince asked.

"Oho Oasis." I replied.

"Yeah, but you said you'd meet us there. Isn't there someone else you have to warn?" Toad added.

"Yes, the Hooniversity. Won't that be fun." The prince said with a sarcastic smile.

"We could go with you, if you want. Actually, we can split up again. Someone has to find a way for all of us to get to the islands." I said.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, princess?" Mario asked.

"We did fine last time. We'll just have the same groups. You three go find a way to the oasis, and the prince and I will go to the Hooniversity, and we'll meet you at the beach." I told them. They agreed and left.

"You have my deepest thanks, princess. I don't know how much longer I could have taken the screaming alone!" The prince said.

"Yeah, no problem. Let's get moving, we don't have time to waste." I told him.

"Good idea." He replied, and we left the castle, dashing to the east.

After twenty minutes of running, the prince and I finally arrived at the Hooniversity.

"We should try to get onto the microphone, that way everyone can hear us and we can leave before we have to deal with the hoards of screaming Beans." Prince Peasley said. I was so out of breath I could only nod and follow him inside. The halls were empty, but it was school hours. Still, it did seem a bit creepy. We finally found the principal's office, and I noticed there was still no one around.

"Um, are you sure there are people here?" I asked.

"Yes, the head just likes to work his way around and check up on everyone." The prince answered. "Now, if I can just remember how to work this…"

"You've used the microphone before?"

"...Just because I'm the prince, doesn't mean I haven't pulled pranks in school. Yes, I've used it before. Now… Attention students, professors, and Mr. Lima, this is Prince Peasley speaking. I must inform you that Cackletta has returned, and while she may not target this particular spot, I still advise you to evacuate and stay safe. That is all. Okay. That's done. Run." He told me.

So we ran. Down the halls, out the door, and all the way to the beach.

When we got there, they spotted us and stopped working on… whatever it is they were working on. I'm not quite sure.

"Hey guys!" Toad greeted us.

"Hello Toad! Have you guys found a way to the oasis yet?" I asked.

"We built this raft, but I don't think it would hold up." Luigi said.

"Yeah. Besides, there's too many rocks and whirlpools on the surface. We'll just have to find another way." Mario shrugged.

"Well, we need to find it soon." Prince Peasley replied.

"You know, if we can't go over, we should just swim under. You two did that last time, right?" I said, looking at Mario and Luigi.

"Yeah, but there's a LOT of enemies under water." Luigi told me.

"We'll have to level up anyway. That would be helpful." I replied.

"Then it's settled, we'll swim. Lucky for us, there's a special seaweed that grows here. We'll be able to breathe under water with it." Prince Peasley said.

"That's what we used last time." Mario grinned. So we found the seaweed, ate it, and jumped in the water. It was really hard to see at first. The waters were so murky! Eventually, though, I got used to it, and we fought our way towards the oasis. Once or twice I wondered if we could talk to each other like this, but I decided not to try it. I was still getting used to breathing.

We came to some kind of kelp forest about a half hour after we had left the beach. Mario gestured for us to follow him, so we did, but as soon as I got into the maze of plants I lost them! _Just great. Lost underwater, in a place I don't know, relying on magic kelp for breath. I don't even know how much longer this stuff will last!_ When I was little, Toadsworth always told me that if I was lost, I just had to stay in that spot until someone found me. That didn't really help me here, so I swam around for a little bit. It was kind of like a corn maze I went in once. No matter which way I turned, or how often I backtracked, I always ran into a dead end, and I couldn't find anyone.

Finally, I did get out. Then I realized I was just back at the start. I waited around for ten minutes before Mario found me, and led me through the kelp to the others. Without wasting another second, we swam the rest of the way to shore, then collapsed on the sand, exhausted from the swim.

"Alright, now that we're here, what's the plan?" Prince Peasley asked.

"There are two temples here, you probably know that. Mario and Luigi got their Firebrand and Thunderhands here. It could help us." I replied.

"Uh… don't they already have those?" Toad questioned.

"Not anymore." Mario said.

"But you're right, if we got those back, we'd definitely have a better chance of beating Cackletta again." Luigi agreed.

"That's why I brought you here. Now, let's go." I said.

"To be honest, I had no knowledge that these temples still contained power. How can you be sure it's still there?" Prince Peasley asked.

"They say there was power last time, so I don't see why it wouldn't be here now." Toad said.

"Besides, we can always find another way of getting the queen back if this doesn't work." Luigi assured him. The prince nodded, and we headed towards the Thunder temple. When we stepped inside, I saw some strange blue creatures wandering around. _I guess those are the Ohos._ One came up to us and spoke, "Hello! Welcome to Thunder temple! Do you wish to see Thunder person?"

"That would be great!" Mario said.

"Go down hallway, easy to find big room." It told us, then walked away.

So we walked down the only hallway that we could find and stopped at a grate, which lowered for us.

"Well, that's new!" Luigi said.

"What do you mean?" Toad asked.

"Last time we were here, Weegee had to tunnel under this because there was no other way in." Mario explained.

"Well, I don't think it's safe to go in there." I said. The prince nodded in agreement.

"Why…? Oh." Mario said when he looked in the room. Inside, there were stairs leading up to an orb, probably the one that would give Luigi his powers. But surrounding it was a faint purple mist.

_Did the Ohos even come back here? Did they know about this? Is that why they didn't try and stop us from entering and awakening their ancient deity?_

"Is that part of the smoke monster we fought back at the entrance of Teehee Valley? Do we have to fight it again?" I asked.

"I think that depends on whether it attacks us or not. Whatever the case, we need to get to that orb. Come on." Prince Peasley said, but I stopped him.

"Wait! Take these. They're still a bit soggy from the water, though…" I said, pulling out some handkerchiefs. "There's no telling what might happen if we breath this stuff in."

"Good idea, princess!" Mario said. They each took one, and we tied them across our mouths and noses.

Then we cautiously entered the room and started to climb the stairs.

"Whvo's ghonna do dis?" Luigi inquired, his voice slightly muffled by how tightly he had tied his handkerchief.

"You, Weegee! Just like last time." Mario answered. Luigi nodded and approached the orb nervously, but no problem presented itself. He put his left hand on the orb and waited for something to happen. In a flash of nearly blinding light, lightning struck his hand. He flinched back in pain, but quickly recovered. I was about to tell them that we should head to the next temple when I realized I was getting a bit dizzy.

"Oh no!" I said. I must not have tied my handkerchief tightly enough! I was getting very dizzy, so I attempted to flee down the stairs and try to get rid of the smoke I inhaled, but I only succeeded in stumbling to the floor. I heard the others' voices behind me, but before I could do anything else I slipped out of consciousness.

When I woke up, I was momentarily confused. Then I noticed the green walls. I was in the Beanbean castle guest room. _Was it all just a dream? No, it couldn't have been. Why am I here, then?_ I was about to start asking a million other questions in my head when Toad walked into the room.

"Oh, princess, you're awake!" He smiled. Then he turned around and yelled out the door, "Guys! She's okay!" Prince Peasley and Luigi then entered.

"What… happened?" I asked, sitting up. I was still a bit dizzy, and my memory was fuzzy.

"I think your handkerchief was too loose, and you inhaled some of that smoke. Mario stayed to check out the Firebrand temple while we brought you back." The prince explained.

"How did you manage to bring me back?"

"I used my magic bean to carry you, and they swam." He said.

"What do we do now?"

"First of all, stop asking questions and get some rest. Toad will stay here while the prince and I go get Mario." Luigi told me.

"Alright, that sounds like a good plan. I'll see you guys later, okay?" I said.

"Yeah, we'll see you!" Luigi waved, then they left. Toad stayed for a little while longer, though.

"Really princess, get some rest. You don't know what was in that stuff!" He scolded me.  
"Stop trying to sound like Toadsworth." I giggled. He made a face, and I laid back down. As I drifted off to sleep, I wondered when this would all end.

**By the way, I still need questions if you want me to do that Ask The Characters thing. I've got lots of my own questions I could use, but I want to hear from you guys! Also, which would you like better, a Prince Peasley fan fiction or a Prince Dreambert fan fiction? I still need to know that. Review or PM me your answers :D**


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's note: HELLO! Thank you to all who have supported me through this fiction! Even though it's over now, I still love hearing from you guys, so no matter how much time goes by, you should still comment! Once again I'd like to thank YinWriter for all the awesome comments and support. I'll be able to focus more on my other fictions now, so look forward to some more Super Princess Peach, Luigi's Diary, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Saved! If you have any ideas for me, don't hesitate to PM me. I'm always looking for new things to write. Enjoy :D**

I was pulled from my sleep by some murmuring. I cracked open my eyes and realized that Mario, Luigi, Toad and the prince were standing over my bed. I almost shrieked. Instead, I bolted up and started scolding them.

"Do you often watch people sleep?! That's so creepy!"

"Sorry princess, we just walked in. We were only going to wake you up, to see if you were feeling better." Toad explained.

"Oh." I said.

"Well, are you feeling alright?" Mario asked.

"Yes. I did have this strange dream, though… something about Cackletta." I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

"Really? That must be an effect of that poison. Do you remember any specific details about it?" Prince Peasley questioned.

"Yeah, she was on her way here. Possibly to destroy the castle… that's what she was mumbling about, anyway. And… kidnapping the prince..." I trailed off. I got out of the bed as I watched the prince's expression turn to a look of horror. The others must have noticed it too, because Luigi asked, "What's wrong?"

"Cackletta might have rigged that poison to show you that… to reveal her plans. It might seem a bit far-fetched, but I've heard of sleep magic like that. If she's coming here, we have to get everyone out of the castle, get the town prepared…" He explained.

"There's no need to panic, it could just be that she's trying to scare us. We can't let her get to us." I replied.

"We don't know that! And do you know how long it took to repair Castle Town after her last attacks? Not to mention the rest of the kingdom. Whether this is a false threat or not, we just can't let her come here without being prepared." He told me.

He turned and walked out of the room. We followed closely. The part of the dream where Cackletta was mumbling about kidnapping the prince… or maybe just hurting him, I can't remember now, was really worrying me. If he was in danger, we just had to get him to safety. Cackletta couldn't win if she couldn't have both of the royal family members, right?

"Until we know exactly what's going on, the basement is the safest place. I need all of you to get down there, and I'll inform everyone else. Mario, Luigi, Toad, keep the princess safe at all costs." Prince Peasley ordered.

They nodded and Mario took my hand. Under normal circumstances, I would have melted right there, but too much of my mind was just concerned about the prince.

"If she's really coming here, you need to get to safety too! Without the queen back, you're the only Beanbean royal." I said.

"And unless you're forgetting, you're the only royal member of the Mushroom family, ruler of all the most powerful lands, which would fall apart without you. Get to safety, I can handle myself for a few minutes." He replied. I hesitated, and then nodded. He was right, I had nothing to worry about, and sure enough, a few minutes later he came down, following Lady Lima and the rest of the castle staff.

"Everyone has been safely evacuated from the top floors, right?" I heard Prince Peasley ask Lady Lima.

"I can't be sure, Your Highness." She replied. He nodded, then walked over to us.

"I'm going to do one last sweep of the castle. Mario, would you help me out?" He asked.

"Of course!" He answered. They left, and I turned to Toad and Luigi.

"I know that look. He's got other plans, and won't be coming back, not for a long time. Maybe even until Cackletta's defeated. We have to help." I said.

"He told us to keep you safe, princess." Luigi reminded me.

"And letting you go up there, especially if he plans to face Cackletta, isn't keeping you safe!" Toad put in.

"I'm always safe with Mario!" I told him.

"Nope. You'll have to sneak out if you really want to leave." Toad said, winking at me.

"Don't give her ideas!" Luigi protested.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll listen to Toad." I smiled. He _is_ my top guard, when he tells me to sneak out and help defend a kingdom, who am I to argue? So I waited until no one was watching (Toad helpfully distracted Luigi) and then I quickly slipped out the door. I ran down random corridors as I tried to find the prince and Mario. I figured I'd just follow them for a little while, not get noticed until they needed help.

"Looking for someone?" I heard the prince's voice say from behind me. I muffled a shriek.

"P-Prince Peasley! Yes!" I stammered.

"I told you to stay safe." He said.

"I'll be safe with you. Besides, did you think you were just going to face Cackletta head-on without a little backup?" I asked.

"That's why I asked Mario to come with me."

"Where _is_ Mario?"

"Checking out the other side of the castle for anyone who might not have gotten to safety. I'll walk you back."

"No way! And we don't have time for arguing. Cackletta could be here any minute."

"That's why I want you to go!"

"Well too bad. But you should get Toad and Luigi. You can never have too many people to fight."

"...You will stay out of the fight if at all possible. Under no circumstances will you throw yourself into any kind danger. Understand?" He said.

"Yes, I understand." I replied.

Soon after we finished our discussion, Mario came back.

"Mario, would you fetch Toad and Luigi and meet us outside? Our plans have changed." The prince told him.

"Okay, I'll be right back." He said, with a hint of confusion in his voice. The prince and I walked outside and stood around for a little while. The silence between us became a bit awkward, so despite the situation, I tried to make small talk.

"You know, this kingdom is so exciting. Nothing much ever happens in the Mushroom Kingdom, except for Bowser's attacks." I said.

"You say that as though you've grown used to it." He smirked. I nodded, and his smirk was replaced by a look of surprise.

"Does he really attack that often?!"

"Yes. I'm not so much used to it as I am bored of it. I've been living the "save the damsel in distress from the Evil King Koopa" routine for my whole life."

"Wow. How long are you away when he attacks? Surely the kingdom would be worse off if he did that much damage…"

"You would think so, but no. Mario always comes for me within a day. I did try escaping once on my own, but that only led to Mario being kidnapped. It's complicated, but I'm never doing that again!" I looked around and noticed that Mario wasn't back yet. It shouldn't take _that_ long to go to the basement and back, right? "Where are they?"

"I don't know, maybe we should go inside-" Prince Peasley started to say, but as we turned Mario, Luigi, and Toad showed up.

"Were there any signs of Cackletta from the back of the castle?" The prince asked.

"No, but weegee and I can go check." Mario replied. So they left Toad with us. We started chatting again, and I decided that my dream might just have been that - a dream. Cackletta couldn't really be stupid enough to reveal her plans to us.

**(Quick Koopa interlude)**

"Are the preparations ready, Kamek?" Bowser asked his loyal follower.

"Yes they are, your Gnarliness. Everything is complete… except for the centerpiece." Kamek answered.

"Alright! Then let's go get my precious Peachy pie." Bowser grinned, hopping into his Clown Car. He turned on his communicator and called Roy.

"Hey, King daddy-o! Have you called to yell? If that's the case, save your breath, I haven't found Princess Peach, and neither have the others. So you can hang up." Roy said.

"No, I called to tell you that you can come back home. I'm coming over because you Koopalings can't do ANYTHING right!" Bowser growled. Then he hung up and flew towards the Beanbean Kingdom.

**(Wow, so important! Back to Peach!)**

After about an hour, we saw something faint in the distance. Mario and Luigi had come back, and were looking at it with us.

"Do you think that's Cackletta?" Toad asked.

"I don't know any other sinister thing that could be flying towards the castle." The prince said, his face grim.

"I can…" Luigi said. None of us had to ask to know that he was talking about the Koopa brats, but no one answered him. I don't think any of us wanted to think about them. The thing came closer and closer until we could make out the shape of the queen. Soon she was hovering right in front of us. I expected her to be flying in some sort of Clown Car-like contraption, but she was in her throne. Weird.

"How nice of you to welcome me! Are you giving up already? I'll admit, I was expecting a better fight." She snickered.

"I have no intention of giving you the kingdom." Prince Peasley replied coldly.

"Oh, well, that's too bad. I only have to destroy you, and all the people will beg for me to lead them, to spare what's left of their precious queen!" She cackled. She attacked, and we were thrown into a battle. I wasn't fast enough to avoid it, so I had to fight. To start off, Toad did a spell to see how much health she had.

_Ten thousand health! This is going to be tough, Cackletta, but we're taking you down!_ Mario and Luigi started off by using their Firebrand and Thunderhand, each doing two hundred damage. I used my frying pan for another two hundred, and Prince Peasley pulled out his Bean Gun and took four hundred health from her! But then it was Cackletta's turn. She used a smoke attack to do an equal four hundred damage to the prince.

Toad, Mario, Luigi, and the prince kept pounding away at her while I took to healing the prince, since he was her main target. When we had her down to half-health, I was exhausted. I could tell the others were, too, but Cackletta seemed to have most of her energy. Just when I was beginning to lose hope, something flew overhead. I looked up just in time to see a Clown Car crash down on Cackletta, bringing her down to only a hundred health.

"Bowser?!" I exclaimed. I stepped back as Mario and Luigi stepped forward, and they were thrown into a new battle against him. Luckily that crash seemed to have damaged Bowser, too, so he would probably go down easily. Toad joined them in their fight while Prince Peasley and I continued our fight with Cackletta.

"If you let the queen go now, your punishment won't be as harsh." The prince told her.

"Not a chance! Besides, if I get KO'd, so does your queen! Would you really hurt her?" Cackletta gave a wicked grin that looked nightmarish on the queen's face.

"Well, if I did that, you would finally be defeated, and I could revive her." He shrugged. Cackletta looked a little scared for a minute, then laughed nervously, "You couldn't do that." "Would you like to find out? Why do you think Bowser is still here?" He said.

"Alright, you win this time, _princey,_ but I WILL take over this kingdom!" Cackletta gave a final snarl before leaving the queen's body in a puff of purple smoke. Prince Peasley said something, and the smoke dissolved.

"What did you do?" I asked him.

"I sent her away. Her spirit will no longer haunt our kingdom. She would have been too weak to return, anyway." He explained.

"Oh, where am I?" Queen Bean asked, sitting up. Prince Peasley immediately helped her to her feet and then proceeded to tell her the quick version of what happened with a joyful grin on his face.

Mario, Luigi, and Toad finished Bowser off and came over to us.

"Thank you all so much! The kingdom would have fallen if not for your bravery." The queen told us.

"We're just glad that you're safe, Queen Bean!" Mario grinned.

"We should go tell everyone that it's safe to come out now." Prince Peasley said. We agreed, and went inside. After everyone was out of the basement, Prince Peasley turned to us and said, "Would you mind staying one more night? We have many extra rooms, and this is cause for a celebration, don't you think?"

"That sounds great!" Luigi said.

"Yeah, one more night can't hurt." Toad agreed.

That night we had a feast, and Castle Town was lit up like a Christmas tree. We could hear the cheering all the way from the dining hall! Afterwards, we chatted for a little while and then headed to our rooms. I changed into some spare pajamas and hit the bed with a soft _thud_. Before I fell asleep, I smiled to myself and thought of how good it would be to return to the Mushroom Kingdom and have a break from fighting.

When I woke up I went into my guest bathroom to get dressed. When I came out, there was a knock at my door.

"Come in." I said. It was the prince.

"My apologizes for interrupting you, princess, but everyone is already at the airport. Are you ready to depart?" He asked.

"Yes, I am. Shall we go?" I said, trying to sound as formal as he was. After all, I'd spent days being out-of-character. Weeks, even. We took a shortcut to the airport and met up with everyone.

"Farewell, friends, and visit again!" Prince Peasley told us.

"Yes, and you have our eternal gratitude for helping us." Queen Bean added.

"I'm glad we could help. It might be awhile before we see each other again, but I can't wait until that time comes!" I said.

We spent a few more minutes lingering, and then boarded the jet. The flight home was quiet and peaceful. When we finally landed, and I got back to the castle, Toadsworth was freaking out and life became normal again. I figured we had about a week before something went wrong again, so it was time to start planning a vacation.

**THE END!**

**Ooh, guess what that means? YEAH! Super Mario Sunshine 2! I'm going with that idea since I still haven't had many people tell me what they want. Look forward to the first chapter in a few weeks or so :) But if you still want me to write a different story, just tell me. Especially one-shots! **


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